Opinion: Ofori has every reason to believe Bucs can compete in Africa.

Having a born again Orlando Pirates team that won a cup double last season in the domestic league competing in the CAF Champions League in the coming campaign, is a boost for South African football, more especially for Bafana Bafana. 

Players like Innocent Maela, Monnapule Saleng, Miguel Timm, Zakhele Lepasa and Nkosinathi Sibisi, who are national team players will welcome the prospect of competing  against the best that Africa has to offer in club football. 

They should be able to transfer their CAFCL experience to the national team. 

But for the above players to really get the feel of what it is like to play in Africa, Pirates will have to at least make the group stages. 

The big question is whether they have what it takes to get that far. 

In my opinion, Pirates have enough ammunition in their arsenal to reach the group stages and even go further. 

Besides the Bafana Internationals in their ranks, they also have capable players like Thabang Monare, Makhehlene Makhaula, Thapelo Xoki, and the experienced Kermit Erasmus to name only a few. 

Individuals aside, as a team, Amabhakaniya showed enough tactical/technical maturity to be able to do well in Africa. 

Their defense is solid, and offensively they are a team capable of unlocking defenses and create goal scoring opportunities. 

It is maybe in psychological aspects of the game where Bucs might be found wanting, which is unfortunately the most important aspect for a team hoping to do well in Africa. 

If they can be well prepared mentally to withstand the pressures of travelling, fixture congestion, and opposition antics on and off the pitch aimed at unsettling them, there is no reason Bucs cannot go far. 

Like Ofori, I also believe Bucs can compete in Africa. 

How Dzvukamanja turned yours truly into one of his converts...

In January, when there were reports that Terrence Dzvukamanja was on his way out of Orlando Pirates, I said good riddance! He was, after all, one of the deadwood Pirates had to get rid of.

Instead, it was Zakhele Lepasa who was allowed to head SuperSport United, where Dzvukamanja was allegedly supposed to go and reunite with his former coach at Bidvest Wits, Gavin Hunt.

At that time, I was convinced that Orlando Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro, is a crazy man.

How could he possibly let Lepasa go, and keep a passenger like Dzvukamanja in the team?

Five months down the line, with the season having just ended, I am eating humble pie, and I must say, it tastes like embarrassment.

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Dzvukamanja ended the season with eight goals and two assists in 19 appearances across all competitions.

He is currently Pirates' second best hope when it comes to scoring goal, next to DStv Premiership Players player of the Season, Monnapule Saleng.

Do I still believe he should leave Pirates?

Hell no!

With his contract set to expire at the end of June, I now believe Dzvukamanja should be one of the players Pirates should be looking to tie down for next season, and beyond maybe.

His contribution to their rise to a second spot finish in the league, and his Nedbank Cup final winning goal against Sekhukhune United has turned me into one of his converts.

Speaking to iDiski Times about his future, Dzvukamanja was coy in his response, giving nothing away.

"That one I don’t think I have a say and maybe if you can contact my agent and I think he can explain a little better than me because I was focusing on my job here," said Dzvukamanja. https://www.idiskitimes.co.za/dstv-premiership/nedbank-cup-hero-dzvukamanja-comments-on-pirates-future/

"I still have a contract here."

Dzvukamanja, it seems, feels he has done his job, and now it is up to the club to do the right thing, something that he has no control over.

"I don’t know,"said Dzvukamanja.

"If they come, they will come. As I have said, that is from my agent to say ‘Terry, this is what is on the table’ and if it is something good or not good, I will take it from there."

However, with Pirates having qualified for the CAFCL, Dzvukamanja sounds keen to stay, and probably keep banging them in for the club in Africa's premier club competition.

"Every player wants to play for a big team and there is also CAF Champions League [for Pirates next season] and everyone wishes to play for this team."

Will he stay? Will he go? I think Riveiro would be crazy to let him go. 

Top coach Riveiro is, but he would make an even greater sailor!

 

Football coaches in general, rarely come cool, calm, and collected as Orlando Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro. Seeing the Spaniard losing his mind on the dugout is a rare occurrence.

When he first joined Pirates, he was given the famous ‘plumber’ tag, which was an insult, because the man would have made a terrible plumber, honestly.

A sailor, now that would suit him. Imagine calm Riveiro sailing against raging sea waters in the middle of a terrible storm that threatens to sink his ship and kill thousands aboard. While everyone else is struck by a mixture of fear and panic, running around screaming their lungs out, Riveiro would be the only cool head aboard, telling everyone to calm down because there is actually no danger. I kid you not.

The buccaneers’ ship is not going through a storm, but it has not been smooth sailing either.

Pirates miss a lot of chances. If it wasn’t for that, they are one team who would have pushed Mamelodi Sundowns harder in the race for the league title.

Looking at their stats makes for some impressive reading.

Pirates average a good 0.69 goals conceded per match in the league. They are third, behind Sundowns and TS Galaxy when it comes to the goals conceded column in the Dstv premiership, having let in 18 goals so far.

They create decent goal scoring chances too! With an average expected goals of 1.57 per match. Their average shots taken per game in the league is also impressive, with 11.35, but their conversion rate has been their biggest let down, with 11%.

But the cool, calm, and collected Riveiro is not frustrated. In his world, all is well.  

“Frustration is not the word,” said Riveiro as quoted by Times Live

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/soccer/2023-04-25-why-jose-riveiro-is-not-fussed-that-orlando-pirates-are-still-missing-chances/

 “I'm not coming to the games thinking we're going to win 5-0 and if we're not at 5-0 at halftime I get frustrated. I know how difficult it is.

“We played a good game against SuperSport but we only scored one penalty after 70 minutes. We played against Maritzburg [United] and suddenly [Monnapule] Saleng shoots from nowhere and the ball is in the net.

“It's a complicated game and you have to control a lot of things to get a result. But I'm not frustrated because I know how much it takes.

“We have to work a lot to create one chance and to make sure that chance is not going to result in a transition immediately after we have it.

“I think that's one of the keys in this moment for us, probably the main change in the second part of the season. No we have the capacity to play more in the half of the opponent and you do that your probabilities to score increase.”

What Riveiro says makes a lot of sense, which is another great quality of the man; he knows how to talk a good game. And he knows his football.

But his calmness! Now that takes the cake. A great sailor, Jose would become.

 

How Pirates lost out on signing Themba Zwane.

The one that got away, Mamelodi Sundowns star, Themba Zwane. Image: Twitter

Orlando Pirates Director, Stanley 'Screamer' Tshabalala, has revealed how Amabhakaniya almost signed Mamelodi Sundowns midfield maestro, Themba Zwane.

Speaking to Extra-Time on iGagasi FM, Screamer said if it wasn't for Sinky Mnisi who wanted more money, Zwane would have donned the black and white Bucs jersey.

"With Mshishi [Zwane], we were killed by Sinky [Mninsi]. You know Sinky wanted more money, so he took him there [to Sundowns] because he wanted a million hands," said Tshabalala.

"A million rands was a lot of money that time, and that's how we lost Mshishi, otherwise he was supposed to play for Pirates.

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"After he joined Sundowns, they loaned him to Mpumalanga Black Aces, then again we went for him. But one night at around 22:00 or 23:00, Pitso [Mosimane] called me and said we must stop going after the boy because he was still their player, they had not abandoned him, they were just trying to get him to understand how the game is played in the professional ranks, not what he was used to in the township [Tembisa]."

Themba Zwane has since went on to become the heartbeat of the Mamelodi Sundowns 'Shoe shine and Piano' style of play, which was incidentally made famous by the very same Screamer during his days with the Brazilians.

He has appeared over 320 times for the Brazilians since his return from Aces in the 2014/15 season, scoring more than 70 times and assisting with 50 plus goals. 

Sundowns win the league with seven games to spare, while Chiefs make it four wins in a row.

 

          Kaizer Chiefs players in celebratory mood after beating Stellenbosch FC 2-1. Image credit: Kaizer Chiefs Twitter.

It was an action-packed Saturday in the Dstv Premiership, that saw Mamelodi Sundowns winning the league with seven games to spare, while SuperSport United's draw against Chippa United threw the race for second spot wide open.

As things stand, Orlando Pirates, SuperSport United, and Kaizer Chiefs are all tied on 40 points after 24 games, with Pirates occupying the Caf Champions League spot by virtue of a better goal difference. 

Richards Bay vs Orlando Pirates:

Amabhakaniya managed to shrug off an early resistance from the Natal Rich Boys to down them 2-0 in a match played at King Zwelithini Stadium, Umlazi, on Saturday afternoon.

Terence Dzvukamanja opened the scoring for Bucs in the 32nd minute after Kabelo Dlamini located him inside the box with an inch perfect cross from the right outside channel, while Monnapule Saleng finished the job for Pirates after 90+2 minutes, with a close-range finish which took his tally for the season to nine goals in the league.

Pirates enjoyed 58% of the ball, which culminated in 15 goal attempts with seven of them on target, while Richards Bay, who suffered their sixth straight league defeat, only managed five goal attempts, with a meagre two on target. 

With their win, Pirates moved to second spot on the league, after SuperSport United dropped two points against Chippa United.

Kaizer Chiefs vs Stellenbosch FC:

Amakhosi made it four wins in a row in the league as they put on a dominant performance om Saturday afternoon at FNB Stadium, to beat a 10-men Stellies 2-1.

The ghost of their first-round defeat to Chiefs, where they conceded three penalties and received a red card, came back to haunt Steve Barker's side as they gave away an early penalty, and got shown a red card in the 16th minute when goalkeeper, Sage Stephens handled the ball outside the box.

In a game they completely dominated, and should have scored more, Amakhosi took the lead through Ashley Du Preez in the 11th minute from a penalty spot, before captain Keagan Dolly added the second in the 25th minute to help Chiefs go to the half time break with a 2-0 lead, with Stellies looking dead and buried.

But Stellies came back a different side in the second stanza, as they pulled a goal back in the 46th minute through Jabaar. They almost grabbed an equalizer in the last minute of added time, but Brandon Pietersen pulled off a great close range save to deny Ortiz.

As has become the norm, Chiefs coach bemoaned his side's lack of killer instinct as they failed to kill the game off despite being dominant for most parts of the game.

Chiefs enjoyed 60% ball possesssion, 22 attempts on goal, of which only five were on target against 10-men. nonetheless, Zwane welcomed the all-important three points, and a fourth win in a row for his side, who have suffered a lack of consistency throughout the season.

Amakhosi remain fourth on the log, by virtue of a poor goal difference.  

Ofori not threatened by Chaine.

 

While Orlando Pirates goalkeeper, Richard Ofori is recovering from an injury, Sipho Chaine, who signed for Bucs from Chippa United during the January transfer window, has been slowly going about the business of making the number jersey his own.

Chaine's performances have left many a football fan pondering on whether Ofori will be able to reclaim his spot in the starting line-up when he is fit to play.

The former Chippa United shot stopper has been impressive for Pirates, not only with his goalkeeping skills, but his ability to be an extra man during the team's build up from the back, something that Ofori is not comfortable doing.

The Ghanaian International, Ofori, has revealed that he is not threatened by Chaine's good performances, saying he is fully behind the 26-year-old.

"We motivate him [Chaine] because this spot [the No.1] isn't about the individuals. People were there before we came, so when we are not there someone else must continue.

"It's not about one person...you can't be greedy and be thinking about yourself only,'' said Ofori as quoted by Sowetan Live. https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sport/soccer/2023-03-23-ofori-welcomes-chaine-competition/

Ofori emphasized the importance of the club's success over individual glory, saying he is always encouraging Chaine to keep focused.

"The most important thing is the success of the club, so we also talk to Sipho, motivating him to say, 'keep on growing and keep focused'. He's been doing well and that's the most important thing for the club."

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Chaine has appeared 13 times for Pirates, he has conceded 12 goals and kept four clean sheets.

Before his injury, that kept him out of Ghana's world cup squad, Ofori had played 13 times, keeping seven clean sheets, with just six goals conceded.