Saturday soccer punts!

So another weekend of football is here before things start winding down for the festive season. A last chance to make a few bucks.

I finally got around to open an account with Voltbet.com and was surfing around for something which offered a bit of value for punters.

The only international soccer bet which really jumps out at me is Spurs playing host to Chelsea and favouring the home side for a win.

Chelsea are going through a shocking run of form and just don't look like a team which is gelling. Spurs on the other hand appear to be riding high on self belief.

Voltbet are offering me 18/10 on Spurs which I think are tasty odds.

On the domestic front I am backing Kaizer Chiefs to beat Free State Stars but I think it should be a really entertaining game.

Happy punting.

What the hell is wrong with Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates?!

I don’t follow South African football much. I pinned my flag to Sundowns a few years back simply to be different but I don’t follow the teams and players particularly closely.

Today the two “powerhouses” of South African soccer – Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates – went head to head for the third time in the season and again produced a goal-less draw. Pirates then missed their first three penalty attempts after extra time while Chiefs sunk theirs, putting Chiefs into the final.

Apparently that is 300 minutes of soccer where these two teams have failed to score against one another.

In the league this year Chiefs finished third, six points off the log leader Supersport while Pirates finished in fifth place with a goal difference of just eight. In fact – of the top 11 sides, Pirates scored the fewest goals.

What the hell is up with these two teams? They are supposed to be the crown jewels of South African football and one would have thought that would involve scoring goals and entertaining their massive supporter bases?

Telkom Knock-out - Kaizer Chiefs versus Pirates

There is an interesting game on the go as the old Derby of South African football gets played out again as Orlando Pirates and Kaizer chiefs go head to head in the Telkom knockout on Monday.

I’ve had horrific luck backing either of these sides to a win and neither side has exactly set the domestic league alight.

However I got 7/1 and 9/1 on either side winning 1-0 or 2-0 so its tempting from that perspective. Went each way with these scores.

Will see what comes from it!

SA soccer - weekend predictions

The big South African soccer for the weekend is the derby clash between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. I have put 2-0 down on a win for Chiefs and money down on Kaizer Motaung Jnr. as the first goal-scorer.

I think it is important that the South African football gets a bit of coverage and airtime and it was good to see the Friday papers talking up the super sports weekend ahead of us.

My predictions:

• Orlando Pirates vs. Kaizer Chiefs - Chiefs to win 2-0
• Maritzburg Utd vs. Free State Stars - Draw
• Platinum Stars vs. Swallows - Draw
• Wits vs. Supersport United - Supersport to win 2-1
• Sundowns vs. Cosmos - Sundowns to win 2-0
• Amazulu vs. Santos - Santos to win
• Bloem Celtic vs. Black Aces - Celtic to win
• Ajax CT vs Arrows - Ajax to win.

MTN 8 picks

The MTN 8 final is getting interesting and I hate to say it but the Chiefs vs Ajax Cape Town game has the feeling of a "final" of sorts.

No disrespect inteded to the Golden Arrows and Amazulu sides but one wonders whether either of them could take the winner of the Chiefs / Ajax game.

Our picks for the weekend:

Arrows to beat Amazulu (2-0)
Chiefs to beat Ajax (2-0)

Final prediction would be that the winner of the Chiefs / Ajax game will go on to bag the tournament.

Its going to be interesting though...

Sent packing!

So Kaizer Chiefs managed to put one over the Manchester City side with a victory yesterday.... This tour by Manchester City has given some serious kudo's to South African football as a follow-up to the achievements in the Confederations Cup. As for Man City, one has to wonder whether Mark Hughes is starting to feel some heat after all of his pre-season spending.

Admittedly Robinho didn't play much part in this tour and he is a game-maker and breaker on his own but there should have been enough fire-power in the City side to take on and beat sides like chiefs and Pirates.

Homeground advantage with the blaring Vuvuzela's probably played a big part and maybe there's a message in that for next year when the World Cup starts - MAKE A HELLUVA LOT NOISE FOR YOUR LOCAL SIDE!

Well done Chiefs and Pirates for sending the foreigners packing with their tails between their legs - a great advert for South African football!

Absa Premiership weekend predictions

Things are really starting to heat up in the Absa Premiership with only 8 points separating the top 10 teams. The Sports Trader blog takes a look at the fixtures for the weekend and makes its predictions.

Saturday 17 January
Maritzburg Utd v Ajax Cape Town - Ajax win
Free State Stars v SuperSport United - SuperSport win
Orlando Pirates v Golden Arrows - Draw

The big game is Orlando Pirates vs Golden Arrows is likely to be an interesting one. Pirates seem to have hit their stride but we're expecting a stubborn performance from third placed Golden Arrows.

Sunday 18 January
Bay United v Moroka Swallows - Draw
Thanda Royal Zulu FC v Kaizer Chiefs - Chiefs win

Sports Trader - PSL picks

From the Sports Trader blog:

The SA PSL kicks off again and here are our Premiership picks for the weekend.

There are two cracking games on the cards this weekend. On Saturday Pirates take on highflying SuperSport United while on Sunday its a clash of the titans with Sundowns taking on Chiefs:

Saturday
Free State Stars v AmaZulu - Draw
Orlando Pirates v SuperSport United - Draw
Platinum Stars v Bloem Celtic - Platinum Stars win

The Pirates / SuperSport game looks like a cracker but we're expecting sides to share the spoils here.

Sunday
Mamelodi Sundowns v Kaizer Chiefs - Chiefs win
Thanda Royal Zulu FC v Ajax Cape Town - Ajax win
Bay United v Bidvest Wits - Wits win
Moroka Swallows v Maritzburg Utd - Draw
Santos v Golden Arrows - Draw

We're backing Chiefs to win, simply because there seems to be some unrest in the Sundowns camp at the moment whie Chiefs seem to be back on track.

Ajax should win again which should keep them at the top of table.

Chiefs vs. Sundowns highlight

The South African PSL kicks off again this weekend and the big game of the weekend is without question the Sundowns vs. Kaizer Chiefs fixture.

The question is - whose side is going to be celebrating at the end of this fixture?

I picked this post up off the Kaizer Chiefs website and it made for some interesting reading. It makes for some very interesting reading:

Kaizer Chiefs returns to Johannesburg Stadium on Sunday, a venue they opened in June 1996 to face rivals Mamelodi Sundowns. Ironically, Pretoria based Sundowns are the hosts this time around due to the unavailability of Loftus Stadium.

The Amakhosi are in a celebratory mood after turning 39 on 07th January and are prepared to turn the corner this weekend.

Chiefs are lying on seventh position in the log with 20 points while their opponents, Sundowns are not far off on ninth position with 19 points.

Fireworks are expected to fly when the two sides meet as Club captain, Jimmy Tau acknowledged, “Mamelodi Sundowns is always a tough side to play against and on Sunday it will not be different. We are however looking at starting the year on a high note.

What is better than getting three points against Sundowns? We are ready,” he said. Sundowns won this fixture the last time the sides met last season but since then Chiefs has had an upper hand with victories during Telkom Charity and notable, MTN 8 final in Durban.



“We are aware of the challenges we face as a team this year and we are determined to overcome them. The first half of the season was a lesson for us as a team,” said the Kimberly born defender.

Statistics show that The Glamour Boys have had an upper hand in this fixture over the years with Kaizer Chiefs winning a total of nine out of twenty four games while Sundowns are close having won eight.

However the fact that Chiefs last beat Sundowns in the league on 15 February 2006 should be enough to spur on the Glamour Boys come Sunday.

Kaizer Chiefs vs. Mamelodi Sundowns results since inception of PSL in 1996 – 1997

1996-1997
18 December 1996
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mooki, Ndlanya) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

1 May 1997
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mooki)

1997-1998
7 January 1998
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0

25 January 1998
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Masunda, Mooki) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

1998-1999
6 September 1998
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0
30 January 1999
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mooki) Mamelodi Sundowns 2

1999-2000
21 August 1999
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Makua) Mamelodi Sundowns 1

21 December 1999
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nomvete)

2000-2001
17 January 2001
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Nomvete pen x2) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Chukwu)
7 May 2001

Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Evans o.g.)

2001-2002
16 January 2002
Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Mudau) Kaizer Chiefs 0

7 April 2002
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nzama) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Bapela)

2002-2003
11 December 2002
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0

11 January 2003
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mushangazikhe 40, Mabedi 84 pen) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

2003-2004
24 August 2003
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Moshoeu, Mayo) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

21 March 2004
Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Moshoeu, Kannemeyer)

2004-2005
27 November 2004
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mbesuma) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Ngwenya)

19 February 2005
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 (Masehe, Sapula, Mtombeni) Kaizer Chiefs 4 (Radebe, Mbesuma x3)

2005-2006
15 February 2006
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Obua pen) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

22 February 2006
Mamelodi Sundowns 3 (Dladla x2, Moriri) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Obua)

2006 – 2007
14 0ctober 2006
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 0

3 February 2007
Mamelodi Sundowns 2 (Torrealba, Chabangu) Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Fernandez)

2007 – 2008
14 November 2007

Kaizer Chiefs 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 0

13 April 2008
Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Josta Dladla 21) Kaizer Chiefs 0

A giant is born

I picked up this news article off the Kaizer Chiefs website and thought it made for an intriguing read for anybody who wanted to know a bit of the history of one of South Africa's greatest football clubs:

“Kaizer XI Run Riot”, this is how the headlines screamed in The World newspaper the following Monday after Kaizer’s boys had routed the Transvaal Coloured Professional Invitation XI 4-0 (on Saturday) and the District Invitation XI 9-1 (on Sunday). Not an elegant headline, an attention grabber that captured the essence of it all.

After these two games, there was no turning back for the Club. For the next 38 years such headlines became synonymous with Kaizer Chiefs. Chiefs entered the game not only with the bang but elegance as well. There is no contradiction in Kaizer Motaung’ statement, “We changed the face of the game,” He is not presumptuous either!

Chiefs have made several firsts in local football more than any other club. The first team to have more full time professional players, the first team to have several players campaigning abroad at the same time (Shaka Ngcobo, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Pele Blaschke were all campaigning in the US at the same time in the 70s), the first team to be registered as a company, the first team to have white registered supporters.

It was Kaizer Chiefs who made a history of sorts in 1975 when they brought out former Brazilian international Jairzinho to this country. The Club continued in the 90 to ‘revolutionarise’ South African football becoming the first local club to have a club house, Kaizer Chiefs Village in Naturena. The giant Club will be the first club to own its shares in its own stadium to be built in Krugersdorp. This all started on the 7th January 1970.

Kaizer, who was plying his trade in America, found his friends and teammates at Orlando Pirates in 1969 sidelined. He played a vital role in the formation of what is currently the biggest sporting brand in the country, Kaizer Chiefs.

Together with the likes of Thomas “Zero My Hero” Johnson, the late Ewert “The Lip” Nene, Edward “Msomi” Khoza, Ratha Mokgoatlheng and others having toured the country successfully with Kaizer Chiefs XI in 1969, they decided to form what is known today as Kaizer Chiefs.

Kaizer Motaung remembered vividly, “It was on this meeting before I returned to the United States of America that I was pressured not to abandon the Kaizer XI. My father also played a huge role in convincing me, saying, “This will help you to have something to fall back on when you come back from the USA”. We needed strong administration as I was going to be away. I then recruited the late Clarence Mlokoti who was a good administrator. We also had people like China Ngema (currently a Director at the Club). This is how Kaizer Chiefs was conceived,” revealed Motaung.

When Chiefs started, they had their slogan, ‘Love & Peace’ and the brand attracted a ‘Hippie culture’ a while they were winning fans on the pitch with their brand of football. Most Chiefs players, spotted trousers with flares while among the clevers in the township and a majority of ordinary people-trousers had turn ups. Chiefs female supporters also showed traits of more liberalism in their dress sense.

Chiefs founder member, Zero Johnson recalled, “We wanted to be a team with style, not only on the field of play but off the field as well. I suddenly became a ‘dance teacher’ for the players. It was important for Kaizer Chiefs players to be able to dance when there is a call to do so. Fans loved mingling with players and dance so this was a strategy to wow more crowds,” he said laughing.

Life was not as easy though, as Club’s legend Michael Bizzah Dlamini revealed in a television show recently, “There were tough times at the beginning especially financially but we soldiered on. We were determined to take on the best in the country,” Side by side with success, death has been a constant visitor to Chiefs. The deaths of Ewert Nene, former captain, Ariel “Pro” Khongoane in the early 70s were shattering so was the death of the likes of Gilbert Sekhabi, Elkiem “Pro” Khumalo, Clarence Mlokoti and the legendary, Patrick “Ace” Ntsulengoe.

The Boet Erasmus ‘close call’ when player such as Doctor Khumalo, Moses Ngcobo, William Shongwe were pinned to the ground by two walls and the mass of humanity brought dark clouds for the Club. The Orkney disaster on Sunday, 13 January 1991 and the Ellis Park disaster on the 11th April 2001 will forever be remembered as dark moments since the Club’s inception 39 years ago.

Kaizer Chiefs though has always been all about winning from day one. The Club has won more trophies than any other soccer club in South Africa. It boasts with predicted 14 million fans around the country which makes it a biggest sporting establishment in the country and one of the biggest in the continent. The Club continues to grow with fans beyond South African boarders.

As the Club celebrates its 39th birthday, it is hoped that the new generation will match the achievements of some of the legends that turned up for the Club: Patrick “Ace” Ntsoelengoe, Ariel “Pro” Khongoane, Vusi “Computer” Lamola, Johnny “Magwegwe” Mokoena, Teenage Dladla, Lucky Stylianou, Peter B’alack, Johannes “Fetsi” Molatedi, Doctor “Pretty Boy” Khumalo, Lucas “Rhoo” Radebe and many others.

Happy 39th Birthday Kaizer Chiefs!

Source: www.kaizerchiefs.com

SA soccer chugs along

Another weekend of South African football and the big guns (excluding Sundowns) were firing:

Bidvest Wits 1 - 4 Kaizer Chiefs
Orlando Pirates 4 - 2 Thanda Royal Zulu FC
SuperSport United 2 - 0 AmaZulu
Golden Arrows 1 - 1 Bloem Celtic
Free State Stars 1 - 1 Mamelodi Sundowns

Chiefs in particular needed a big win after the loss to Pirates but the log still remains very open after 9 rounds.

Chiefs' latest recruit Nigerian striker Ibe Ogbonna scored twice - once from open play and once from the penalty spot, while skipper Jimmy Tau took a lot of credit for marshalling the Chief's defence.

Golden Arrows - 19
SuperSport United - 17
Bidvest Wits - 17
Kaizer Chiefs - 15
Mamelodi Sundowns - 15
Orlando Pirates - 15
Ajax Cape Town 13

(Ajax have a game in hand over the other sides)

Mafikeng Derby - Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates

As a football blogger, I think I would be amiss not to highlight the result of what is arguably South African footballs biggest rivalry this weekend when Orlando Pirates took on Kaizer Chiefs.

Both sides have had indifferent starts to their seasons with Pirates having one of their worst starts on record, but a kick in the pants seems to have fired up Pirates in particular.

Through the Goals For Miracles campaign the two goals from Orlando Pirates raised a total charity funding of R100 000 (50 000 for each goal scored), to the benefit of the cataract operations performed through the South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB), the Pretoria Eye Institute’s Sight 4 U Cataract Project, and Netcare in association with Vodacom For You.

Goals For Miracles is a joint-initiative between Vodacom, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates


Venue: Mafikeng Stadium
Date: 15 November 2008
Kick off: 16H00
Kaizer Chiefs 0
Orlando Pirates (2) (Gilbert Mushangazhike 22, Lucas Thwala 33)

Kaizer Chiefs winning streak came to an end after Saturday afternoon when Amakhosi lost by 2-0 against archrivals, Orlando Pirates. In what was a sizzling heat in Mafikeng, Orlando Pirates started the game on fire and two goals one from Zimbabwean born striker, Gilbert Mushangazhike and the second one a tap in from Lucas Thwala were enough to hand Orlando Pirates their fourth win in a row.

Top websites:
I'll be honest, I hadn't been on to either the Chiefs or Pirates websites in a while and I was blown away by the quality of the sites. I think some of them might even put their counterparts in the english premiership to shame!

Topsy turvy South African PSL

Who would have imagined that the South African PSL would be looking like this after four rounds?:

Team
SuperSport - 10 (Points)
Bidvest Wits - 10
Arrows - 8
Maritzburg - 8
Swallows - 7
Ajax - 7
Sundowns - 7
Thanda Royal - 7
FS Stars - 6
Bay Utd - 4
Santos - 4
Plat Stars - 4
Chiefs - 3
AmaZulu - 3
Pirates - 2
Celtic - 1

Glamour clubs, Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs have also been knocked out of the big money Telkom cup just to rub salt into the wounds.

I guess its not unusual to see 1 big club get off to a slow start but Sundowns, Chiefs AND Pirates has to be a little perplexing for their supporters.

Disgraceful South African football

It is not often I watch South African football. I believe the standard is weak and many of the players play with a glory boy mentality instead of focusing on delivering the goods on the field. But in the last 3 weeks, I have seen 2 disgraceful tackles that have made me think I was watching a version of cage fighting rather than ‘the beautiful game’.

A couple of weeks back, Maritzburg United Defender Gary Goldstone, smashed open the face of Kaizer Chiefs striker Tshepo Bulu by simply dropping his shoulder and intentionally body checking a player who had beaten him.

Then this weekend Supersport United's Firku Tefera stomped on the throat of Thanda Royal Zulus, July Mahlangu.

He didn't just stomp on the guy inadvertently. He jumped over him, aimed his kick and then kicked him straight in the unprotected throat.

It was an absolute disgrace and in any other league, the guy would be facing criminal assault charges.

South African soccer needs to clean up its act and soon. You cannot have guys literally gunning to take guys out of the game when they get beaten on the field.

Personally I think this is why we are failing to deliver the goods at international level. We allow mediocre players to play dangerously in leagues which are supposed to be showcasing our football talent.

Unfortunately it also has implications for the wider game in the country. Why should foreign clubs (such as Ajax Amsterdam) partner with local clubs and send their European talent to come and get some experience and game time in our leagues?

Why should Manchester United or Liverpool or Real Madrid send teams to South Africa to try and boost our local game when thugs are busy smashing up local players?

Maybe football administrators, coaches and players should see the bigger picture. The game doesn’t need idiots like this destroying our football culture. If you want to attract talent and you want to attract quality players and teams to come and play in South Africa, you need to get rid of this kind of behaviour.

I think the referee deserves a pat on the back for the decisive decision to send him off but this shouldn’t be allowed to rest. Quality players need to be looked after in the leagues and this can only be achieved by sending out a strong message to all involved.

The tackle

Did anybody see the tackle of Maritzburg United Defender Gary Goldstone on Kaizer Chiefs striker Tshepo Bulu?

This is what Bulu looked like afterwards.

It was an absolute shocker of a tackle that I'm surprised didn't result in some criminal prosecution for Goldstone.

Absolute shocking.

KaizerChiefs.com are quoted as saying Bulu’s injury. “He will be out for a month as his nose is fractured. His face is very badly swollen with sutures. He must wait until the swelling has gone down and then Tshepo will be seen by a specialist to reassess the damage and what the prognosis is,” said (Kaizer Chiefs coach) Ertugral.