Chiefs and Pirates share spoils

Orlando Pirates 1 ( 14. Lekgwathi 63 min) Kaizer Chiefs 1 ( 9. Djiehoua 42 min)

Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Premier Soccer League
28th April 2007
Kick Off: 15h15
Temperature: 12.4 ° C

Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates played out a 1-1 draw at the Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon, on reflection the result was a fair one as both teams created the opportunities to have won the game.

Chiefs took the lead close to the end of the first half thanks to some nifty footwork from Serge Djiehoua who tucked away a difficult chance, Pirates were let back into the game in the second half when Lucky Lekgwathi found an equalizer off a Bennett Chenene corner. It was a goal which Chiefs could have prevented, a clash on the line between goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez and Ditheko Mototo allowed the ball to roll over the line and into the net.

The first chance of the afternoon came the way of Chiefs striker David Radebe after just three minutes of play, when Arthur Zwane broke down the right flank after the Chiefs defence had foiled a Pirates attack. Zwane beat his marker and played a cross towards Radebe who jumped through the air and met the ball which passed Francis Chansa, instead of hitting the back of the net Radebe could only find the side netting. A minute on and Benedict Vilakazi spurned the opportunity to give his team the lead, as Patrick Mayo failed to properly clear his line the diminutive Pirates midfielder disposed. Vilakazi tried to bring the ball under control, but was unable to fully control it and from inside the Chiefs six yard area he managed to miss the target as effort on goal flew over Fernandez.

Pirates managed to conjure up a string of decent short passes which culminated with Jabu Mahlangu being set free on the right, Mahlangu wasted no time in knocking a ball towards the far post. Where he found team mate team mate Mulondo Sikhwivhilu lurking the former Blacks player could both direct his header, and headed the ball wide of Rowen Fernandez this action occurred in the 31st minute of play. As half time approached Serge Djiehoua was brought down by Innocent Mdledle on the right flank a few meters into the Pirates half of the field, Chiefs were awarded a free kick and Djiehoua picked himself up and moved towards the Pirates goal. In the mean time Fabian McCarthy lined up to take the free kick and sent a deep searching ball into the Pirates 18 yard area, with Siyabonga Nkosi heading it forward and found Serge Djiehoua who controlled the ball with his chest before turning and hitting the ball on the volley past Francis Chansa to put Chiefs ahead. It was a lead that Chiefs held onto going into the halftime break leading by a goal to nil.

Pirates had most of the possession in the second half and began to look for an equalizer as soon as the game was restarted, Onyekachi Okonkwo did all the hard work and passed a ball down the centre to Manuel Bucuane he was beaten to the ball by Rowen Fernandez who managed to palm it to Fabian McCarthy who cleared the danger. On the hour mark David Obua produced the highlight of the match, when he was the fortunate recipient of a short Arthur Zwane pass. Obua let the ball roll in front of him before sweetly striking the ball with the outside of his boot, the ball flew past Chansa and crashed on the under side of the cross bar. Obua and a number of his teams were the opinion that the ball had crossed the line, but the referee was having none of it and let the game continue.

On sixty three minutes Pirates substitute Bennett Chenene knocked in a corner from the right, which Lucky Lekgwathi headed towards goal at first it looked as though Rowen Fernandez had the ball under control. That was until Ditheko Mototo knocked into Fernandez and some how the ball managed to squeeze between the two Chiefs players who were standing on the line and rolled into the back of the net. With ten minutes to go Rowen Fernandez was called into action when Fabian McCarthy knocked over Excellent Walaza Chenene picked up the lose ball, the referee waved play on and Chenene moved into the danger zone and went for the glory. Fernandez who had ran off his line put his hands in front of his face and managed to block the ball and got rid of the danger.

The game was not as exciting and did not hold the same dramatic twist as was the case when the teams met earlier in the season in December last year, the result was a good one for Pirates it certainly did not do any favours for Chiefs. Who now need to win their remaining two games of the season if they are to qualify and try and launch a successful defence of their SAA Supa8 crown.

Line Up’s:

Orlando Pirates: 44. F. Chansa, 14. L. Lekgwahi, 19. I. Mdeledle, 17. S. Lehlohonolo, 32. L. Thwala, 28. O. Okonkwo, 15. B. Vilakazi, 40. R. Ramudzuli, 11. J. Mahlangu (42. Chenene 56 min), 39. M. Sihhwivhilu, 09. M. Bucuane (8. Walaza 55 min)
Substitutes: 01. A. Phali, 46. T. Coyle, 33. T. Chabalala, 38. B. Cashibe, 42. B. Chenene, 41. J. Merahe, 08. E. Walaza
Coach: Kalambay Mutombo

Kaizer Chiefs: 1. R. Fernandez, 33. D. Mototo, 6. F. McCarthy, 21. P. Mayo, 18. A. Zwane, 13. D. Obua (11. Ngobese 68 min), 8. T. Nengomasha, 28. D. Spencer, 31. D. Radebe ( 25. Schalkwyk 74 min), 9. S. Djiehoua (22. Kilambe 53 min)
Substitutes: 32. I. Khune, 11. E. Ngobese, 25. G. Schalkwyk, 12. T. Mooki, 44. S. Mkhonza, 24. D. Mathebula, 22. R. Kilambe
Coach: Kostadin Papic

Cautions: Orlando Pirates:, Yellow Cards, 19. Innocent Mdledle 41 min Kaizer Chiefs, Yellow Cards, 8. Tinashe Nengomasha 26 min, 28. Derrick Spencer 56 min

Officials:
Referee: Mahlomola Nhlapho
Assistant1: Sandile Dilikane
Assistant 2: Livhuwani Netshion Golwe
4th Official: Baitse Manca

Amakhosi go down to Santos

Santos 3 ( 11. Scott 12 min, 9.Rodgers 46 min, 7. Chapman 80 min )
Kaizer Chiefs 1 ( 33. Mototo 4 min)
Eastern Province Rugby Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Premier Soccer League
22 April 2007
Kick Off: 15h15
Temperature: 24° C

Kaizer Chiefs lost a league game to Santos for the first time since 1998 as they went down 3-1 to the Capetonians, at Port Elizabeth’s Eastern Province Rugby Stadium. Despite taking an early lead through some quick thinking by Ditheko Mototo who used his head to give Chiefs the advantage in the fourth minute, Santos were able to come back and with goals from Roman Scott, Eleazar Rodgers and a third from Substitute Ryan Chapman the ABSA Cup semi – finalists were able to win the game comfortably.

Chiefs had two set pieces in the fourth minute and attacked the Santos goal with copy cat moves; in the first instance Gerald Sibeko floated a free kick from the left deep towards the Santos back post. Where David Obua was lurking the lanky Obua rose to head the ball across goal towards Shaun Bartlett, whose first time shot was blocked by a Santos player and flew out for a corner. From the ensuing corner Sibeko again played a ball to the back post, where once again he found the head of David Obua who headed the ball down wards as Wayne Roberts came out for the ball Ditheko Mototo dived in and headed the ball over the line to give Chiefs the lead.

Three minutes after that and Chiefs charged up the field quickly after successfully defending a Santos corner, Louis Agyemang set Obua free on the right who instantly sped goal wards and unleashed a powerful shot which was a Santos player managed to deflect away from goal. The rebound though fell to Siyabonga Nkosi lurking on the far side of the Santos penalty area; his shot though failed to find the target and went across the face of goal and wide.

In the twelfth minute Santos broke down a Chiefs attack and launched one of their own down the centre, Romano Scott received a pass along the ground and with justice Fernandez in front of him he knocked the ball under the Chiefs keeper to level matters. Six minutes on and Fernandez was called into action again this time around the Chiefs keeper came out trumps, when he was able to turn away a well timed volley by Thembile Kanono from the edge of the Chiefs 18 yard area.

Eleven minutes before the interval Louis Agyemang managed to fight off the towering figure of Sebastian Bax and sent a ball across the Santos goal where David Obua’s first time shot was blocked. The ball flew in the direction of Derrick Spencer who raced to the ball and hit it first time, Spencer shot flew just wide of Robert’s goal. Three minutes before half time Santos launched another attack Eleazar Rodgers from the left wing inside the Chiefs 18 yard area played a ball to his team mate Kanono lurking on the opposite end. From inside the Chiefs six yard area Kanono could only manage to side foot the ball wide of Rowen Fernandez, to ensure that the teams left the field at half time tied at 1-1.

Chiefs began the second half in the worst possible way conceding a goal from the restart, after Santos got the second half up and running they managed to get the ball to Kanono on the left. In turn he played in team mate Rodgers who did well to control the ball with his chest before shooting firing the ball past Rowen Fernandez and into the roof of the net to put Santos ahead in the game.

Just past the hour mark Santos striker Eleazar Rodgers played his team mate Mogogi Gabonamong into space, within shooting distance of Fernandez goal he let rip goal wards Rowen Fernandez judged the ball well and at full stretch kept the ball out. From that broken Santos attack The Amakhosi launched an attack of their own, Shaun Bartlett sent Serge Djiehoua on his way with a pass that caught Santos napping. Djiehoua in acres of space wasted time in dispatching the ball goal wards, by the time he did take his shot Santos had gotten enough man back and managed to block the danger.

On seventy six minutes Ditheko Mototo came close to leveling the scores when his down header off an Arthur Zwane corner from the left bounced over Wayne Roberts, and went agonizingly close to hitting the target but missed by inches. Santos made sure of the win with nine minutes to go when substitute Ryan Chapman who was hardly on the field for thirty seconds, was the lucky recipient of a short pass and managed to stick the ball past Fernandez.

Siyabonga Nkosi thought that he had found a way back for Chiefs with a superbly taken free kick, from the edge of the area Nkosi floated the ball over the Santos wall and beyond Roberts. Unfortunately for him the referee had ruled that it was and indirect free kick, in injury time Nkosi try his luck with another free kick this time in line with the Santos goal. He was able to again get the better of the wall but not Roberts who pulled off a superb stop as he dived across the length of the goal to push the ball wide.

Refereeing inconsistencies apart The Amakhosi were not at their best during this game and failed to capitalize on the chances that came their way, in addition they lost possession in key areas at important times and were made to pay a heavy price. Kosta Papic will need to ensure that his team win their remaining three games of the seasons, failure to do so could result in Chiefs finishing outside the top eight.

Line Up’s:

Santos: 1. W. Roberts, 23. E. Burton, 2. M. Otieno (13. Hendricks 86 min), 16. W. Arendse, 3. T. R. October, 6. S. Bax, 4. M. Gabonamong, 10. T. Kanono (7. Chapman 79 min), 8. T. Ngomeni, 11. R. Scott (25. Selolwane 73 min), 9. E. Rodgers

Substitutes: 30. J. Barnard, 20. C. Bianchi, 19. O. Hendricks, 25. D. Selolwane, 21. K. Mathopa, 13. J. Hendricks, 7. R. Chapman

Coach: Roger Da Sa

Kaizer Chiefs: 1. R. Fernandez, 2. J. Tau, 6. F. McCarthy, 44. S. Mkhonza, 13. D. Obua (11. Ngobese 71 min), 33. D. Mototo, 10. S. Nkosi, 28. D. Spencer, 27. G. Sibeko (18. Zwane 58 min), 20. L. Agyemang (9. Djiehoua 63 min), 17. S. Bartlett

Substitutes:

32. I. Khune, 24. D. Mathebula, 11. E. Ngobese, 9. S. Djiehoua, 12. T. Mooki, 21. P. Mayo, 18. A. Zwane

Coach: Kosta Papic

Cautions: Santos, Yellow Cards, 10. Thembilie Kanono 37 min Kaizer Chiefs, Yellow Cards, 2. Jimmy Tau 13 min, 27. Gerald Sibeko 17 min, 10. S. Nkosi 38 min, 17. Shaun Bartlett 40 min

Officials:

Referee: Miss D. Mitchell
Assistant 1: Mr. L. Chalambisa
Assistant 2: Mr. L. Bolo
4th Official: Mr. J. Frolick
Match Commissioner: Mr. S. Swart

Flying below the radar

*sigh* It's been some hectic year and we only on the 4th month. I've been caught up in situations, contemplating on the next move i should be making. Now that we out out the Bermuda triangle, it will most probably be smooove sailing. From early days of Jan 07 i hooked up with this ensemble of session musicians and boy did i have a ball! They mostly played standards, your jazzy grooves mixed with Afro funk, then along came the original boboshanti, BlackModz. I&I wanted to be a rap star but the effort of memorizing 160 bars of rhymes was a tad much to ask so i opted to stick to my daily IT job in Business Intelligence. Meeting these guys was a true eye opener, i mean there i was, graced by the presence of musical graduates, arrangers, composers, producers and most importantly splendid artists. I can't even read a score, let alone tell you if that's a C-sharp or an E-minus but i came with my own value to be added, i was gonna be counted.

Being of a dj-ing background, i was quickly made the "soundguy". yeah. silly, tedious job u may think but it's awesome. I get to tell them i don't like how they sound, me the soundguy. :-)
I'm the ear.I'm the one voice that interrupts rehearsals because the base guitarist is loosing the tempo or the pianist is torturing his solo. I have the authority. Me the SoundGuy. I introduced some reggae flavor and we let the motherfucker burn. Burn i said. Last week we did a corporate gig at MTN and rocked too damn much. me thinks much about this band. We'll go places. Keep ya eyes glued on this corner...pix will come.

One thing i know is that i will make it.whatever it is, i WILL.

OneLove.

Chiefs off to a flyer under Papic

Kaizer Chiefs 4 (7. Motaung 26 min, 73 min pen & 80 min, 17. Bartlett) Bloemfontein Celtic 0
ABSA Stadium, Durban
Premier Soccer League
10th March 2007
Kick Off: 20h10
Temperature: 24 °C

Kaizer Chiefs made a winning start under new coach Kosta Papic on Saturday evening when they cruised to a comfortable 4 – 0 win over Bloemfontein Celtic, even though the new coach was not on the bench due to technicalities.

He oversaw proceedings from the stands and must have been well pleased with the performance of the team he took over at the start of the week, as Chiefs were rampant and ruthless as they easily saw off Celtic who were expected to give Chiefs a torrid time.

Papic did mention earlier that he would allow his players to freely express themselves, and one of the Chief beneficiaries of the new coaches policies was midfielder Scara Ngobese. As he was able to use the freedom given to him to dazzle the opposition, it was not just Ngobese who brought out his best game on Saturday.

A number of Chiefs big names the likes of David Obua, Shaun Bartlett, Siyabonga Nkosi and Kaizer Motaung Junior who scored his second hat trick of the season all contributed with some big performances, which ensured that Chiefs were able to win at a canter.

Such was Chiefs dominance of the game that they got their first shot at goal inside the first minute, Jimmy Tau was able to send in a cross to Shaun Bartlett who did well to fend of his marker but his volleyed effort went narrowly wide of Walters in the Celtic goal.

Hardly a minute later and with some good work by Ngobese Chiefs were able to carve open another opening, the number eleven ran across the Celtic 18 yard area and set up the on running Obua whose thunderous crack at goal went inches over the Celtic cross bar.

While Chiefs continued to dominate proceedings Celtic did have a sniff at goal in the 23rd minute when Mmethi took a pot shot from distance, Fernandez through a wall of defenders was easily able to pick up the ball.

Chiefs finally made the break through they were looking for on 26 minutes, when Sashi Chalwe’s clearances was blocked by Kaizer Motaung Junior, who after blocking the ball out ran the Zambian and caught up to the ball and neatly knocked it past the oncoming Walters to give Chiefs a well deserved lead.

With half time approaching Chiefs were looking to double their advantage and could have done so, when a Scara Ngobese cross found Shaun Bartlett who did well to control the ball with his chest. Bartlett then volleyed the ball but Walters reacted quickly and blocked the ball, two minutes on and Bartlett did get his ninth goal of the season.

After a neat exchange of passes between Kaizer Junior and Arthur Zwane, the latter sent a pass along the ground into the Celtic penalty area.

As Walters came out to get the ball Shaun Bartlett slid in ahead of him and knocked the ball into the empty net, on the stroke of half time Celtic tried to get back into the game, a long ball was played up towards Mphongoa.

The Lesotho international raced towards the ball, but was beaten to it by Rowen Fernandez who got up and punched the ball away, the first half ended with Chiefs leading 2-0.

Celtic began the second half searching for a way back into the game, and could have been on the score sheet in the 48th minute but for some quick thinking from Rowen Fernandez, Taaibos sent in a cross from the right flank looking for Mphongoa.

Fernandez came out and miss punched the ball which then landed at the feet of John Maduka, Fernandez was able to pick himself up and threw his body in front of Maduka’s pile driver to keep out the Celtic players attempt at goal.

Just past the hour mark and Celtic thought that they had found their way back, Mphongoa galloped past Obua and chipped the ball over Fernandez but could not beat the wood work. As his shot rolled onto Fernandez right hand post, Nzama was able to get to the ball and knocked it away to clear the danger.

Ten minutes later and Chiefs got their third goal, Siyabonga Nkosi was set through on goal but was knocked over by Walters, the referee took his time before eventually pointing to the spot.

Kaizer Motaung Junior stepped up and knocked the ball home with a cheeky penalty, which left Walters stranded to his line and the ball rolled into the bottom left hand corner of the goal.

To give the young Chiefs striker his tenth league goal of the season and Chiefs an unassailable 3-0 lead, eight minutes on with Nkosi once again doing the hard work Kaizer Junior was able to complete his second hat trick of the season.

Nkosi began a run just past the half way line and left a number of Celtic players in his wake, before passing to Kaizer Junior, who collected the ball and shot goal wards, a Celtic defender blocked his initial shot but he was able to get hold of the rebound and turned the ball home to complete his hat trick.

Inside the final five minutes of the match Siyabonga Nkosi was gifted with two opportunities to put one over his old team, but on both occasions Walters was able to come out and block his close range efforts.

Chiefs with a new coach have been able to turn the tide in March with a display and performance that left the huge crowd at the ABSA Stadium cheering for more, The Amakhosi do not have any matches next week.

Co-incidentally their next game will be against Celtic in what will be an exhibition match, played in Port Elizabeth as a fund raiser for the Nelson Mandela Museum.

Kosta Papic though will be pleased to have gotten his Chiefs career off to a winning start, and will welcome the fact that his team will not be in competitive action until the 7th April when they host Black Leopards. As he will be able to use the free time to give them some rest before a busy month of April and will be aiming to finish off the season in second spot.

Line Up’s:

Kaizer Chiefs: 1. R. Fernandez, 2. J. Tau, 4. C. Nzama, 21. P. Mayo, 13. D. Obua, 11. E. Ngobese, 18. A. Zwane (27. Sibeko 77 min), 10. S. Nkosi, 17. S. Bartlett (20. Agyemang 70 min), 7. K. Motaung Jnr

Substitutes: 16. R. Wuest, 28. D. Spencer, 44. S. Mkhonza, 20. L. Agyemang, 9. S. Djiehoua, 27. G. Sibeko, 25. G. Schalkwyk

Bloemfontein Celtic: 30. S. Walters, 12. J. Madidilane (14. Noble 78 min), 2. T. Nthethe, 5. L. Mphongoa, 28. G. Goldstone, 16. S. Chalwe, 18. J. Maduka, 23. N. Sikhakhane, 10. K. Taaibos, 19. P. Mahlatsi, 9. S. Mmethi (26. Solomons 67min)

Substitutes: 31. P. Omony, 21. C. Mubiala, 15. T. Liau, 26. J. Solomons, 14. R. Noble, 4. A. Nteo, 20. B. Tipa

Officials: Referee: Mahlomola Jonas Nhlapho
Assistant 1: Siphiwe Jibiliza
Assistant 2: Geronimo Piedt
4th Official: Zolile Mthetho
Match Commissioner: Robert Pillay

Kaizer Chiefs part ways with coach...-->

Ernst Middendorp has officially been relieved of his duties with immediate effect as Head Coach of Kaizer Chiefs following the decision of the Clubs’ Management Committee meeting held earlier this day. The Chairman, Kaizer Motaung convened a meeting with the Coach and Team Manager, Bobby Motaung wherein the matter was concluded. Whilst the team is searching for a replacement, an official announcement on the whole status of the Technical Team will be made soon.

Usuthu defeat Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs 1 (9. Djiehoua 55 min) Amazulu 2 (23. Mzizi 41 & 74 min) Olympia Park Stadium, Rustenburg Premier Soccer League Kick Off: 19h30 Premier Soccer League Temperature: 32.5 °C A goal in each half from on loan Chiefs striker Lucky Mzizi helped Amazulu record a much needed 2-1 victory over the Amakhosi, who have had a nightmare of a week against teams from Durban. A few days ago Chiefs were eliminated from the ABSA Cup by Golden Arrows, on Saturday in Rustenburg it was Arrows Durban rivals Amazulu who caused a major upset as they defeated Chiefs in Rustenburg and took three valuable points in their fight against relegation home with them.

Say What?

A big sigh is all I can sum up my absence, loss of thought, and palisades of obstacles, one just after another, but through it all I AM still standing, full of faith, hope and strangely calming confusion. I of the eternal chant that: “If it is to be then let it be!” I took a lot of blows that shook me to an understanding that some things we are not in control of.

Through my minds eye I try to page through the options and possibilities and some require “immoral” stealth mixed with a stable eye on the prize. I hope and trust that my coordinates are proper for the times we live in allows only One chance, the first one. The next 3-5 months should be a cracker! A bed made, will be slept on. Keep it coming.

How could I change my faith?

We must delve deeper into new wave of Afrikaner siege mentality

Mondli Makhanya
25 February 2007

Sunday Times Editor, Mondli Makhanya. Picture: James Oatway

I remember attending a Freedom Front congress about 10 years ago and listening to speakers lament the lot of the Afrikaner in the new South Africa.

The words hulle (them) and ons (us) came up a lot during animated speeches about the future of the Afrikaner. Uncertainty reigned in the community, which had lost power after 40 years of rule. Some of the debates taking place within Afrikanerdom were about establishing a system of limited self-rule within the republic.

As part of the pre-election settlement, the ANC had agreed to the setting up of a Volkstaat Council, which would look into the feasibility of such an Afrikaner homeland.

After his inauguration as President, Nelson Mandela had graciously given the Volkstaat Council a generous budget and offices where they could draw maps, use calculators and write their dreams into fancy computers. They travelled widely and studied models of self-governance elsewhere in the world. In the end, they came up with a squiggly, snaking and patchy map of a homeland that stretched from one end of the country to the other.

They handed their report to Mandela, who congratulated them on their diligent work, and then suggested a referendum among Afrikaners on whether they would like to live in such a place.

They have not been heard of since.

One would have thought that this was the end of Afrikaner nationalism, save for a few Boeremag madcaps here and there. Well, that was the case for a while. And then, in the past two years, there has suddenly been a surge in tribal thinking among Afrikaners.

What is bothersome about this wave of mobilisation is that — unlike the Volkstaat types or the Boeremag lunatics — it is quite mainstream. If media coverage and anecdotal tales are anything to go by, there is a strong feeling of victimisation and a sense that it is time to fight back against something.

It leaves me wondering: “What did I miss?” Did something recently happen that resulted in a reduction of the status of Afrikaners? Was there a pronouncement that said Afrikaners were henceforth to be regarded as lesser South Africans than others? Was there an edict that reduced their rights?

If any of these events did happen, then I must apologise for having been fast asleep while a dastardly act was being committed against our fellow citizens.

But this thing happening out there, as with any form of ethnic mobilisation, is cause for concern.

As much as we would like to dismiss the rallying around the Koos de la Rey song as just another passing phenomenon, it is not a cultural fad that will fade away to the fringes of society, like hippiedom and womb-worship.

I have read the lyrics of the song and they are quite ... well ... “struggle” orientated. We have all seen the reaction of the crowds when the song gets played at cultural festivals and at sporting events. It has clearly struck a chord among a generation who feel they have been hard done by in the democratic South Africa.

Why they feel this way is a great mystery to me. The new South Africa has been good for Afrikaners, better than apartheid South Africa in many respects.

Their language is no longer regarded as the language of the oppressor and is jealously protected by those who once took to the streets to reject it.

In both the public and the private sectors it enjoys a status far above that of the other official languages, other than English. It is thriving in the print and electronic media and its literature is in bloom.

In business, Afrikaners have done well. Freed from the bondage of the civil service, they have transformed themselves into great entrepreneurs.

Afrikaner symbols still dominate our urban landscapes and Afrikaner sportsmen are everybody’s heroes nowadays.

One could go on and on.

Ten years after that FF congress, one would have thought that the hulle and ons issues would have been worked out of our system.

But these are just the opinions of a lowly newspaperman. Perhaps wiser counsel would advise better.

I suspect, however, that wiser counsel would probably tell the newspaperman that what is incensing Afrikaners is the removal of Voortrekker and National Party names from street signs and city billboards. To them, this is the ultimate message of defeat.

But this is very odd, as name changes were bound to happen — and the only surprise is that it took so long.

Wiser counsel would also talk of how crime is affecting this community.

Then again, crime is not the exclusive preserve of any one group. And if anyone could lay claim to being the worst victims of the crime wave, it would be the black working class.

Then wise counsel would speak of the encroachment of English into Afrikaans life. Even here Afrikaners are not alone. Speakers of other African languages are equally resentful of the weed-like invasion of English.

Wise counsel would speak then of how employment equity has disadvantaged Afrikaner youths. Well, if you look at the reality on the ground, you will see a lot more black graduates walking the streets, suffering a worse fate than any Afrikaners would suffer.

Appealing to the Afrikaner’s sense of logic, in isolation, is unfortunately not going to help stop this retreat into a laager. We all need to delve deeper into what lies behind this siege mentality. And why now?

Kaizer Jr helps Chiefs beat Wits

BidVest Wits 0 Kaizer Chiefs (7. Motaung 7 min)
BidVest Stadium, Johannesburg
Premier Soccer League
Kick Off: 15h45
17th February 2007
Temperature: 26 °C

Kaizer Motuang Junior scored his first goal in a month and his eight league goal of the season as Chiefs defeated BidVest Wits in a PSL game played at the BidVest Stadium on Sunday afternoon. In truth the score line is not reflective of the game as Chiefs dominated play and possession and had Wits chasing shadows for most of the game, in the end Kaizer Junior seventh minute strike was enough to hand Chiefs the points.

Wits' idea of playing the game at the compact Bidvest Stadium was to take advantage of the fact that they are used to playing on the smaller field, this plan seemed to have backfired in the first-half as the smaller field seemed to have suited The Amakhosi better. As they ran Wits ragged with some sublime touching passing with Gert Schalkwyk being the puppet master as he strung the midfield together with a number of deft touches. Even though Chiefs controlled most of the play in the opening forty five minutes, Wits did have the first real scoring chance.

When after five minutes Marwan Bantam weaved his way into the Chiefs penalty area an unleashed a pile driver goal wards only to find Fabian McCarthy hot on his heals, as the Chiefs defender slid in to block the shot. Two minutes later and Schalkwyk began to weave his magic after receiving a short pass from Siyabonga Nkosi he exposed the Wits defense, with a pass on their blind side which found Arthur Zwane. Who ran a few yards with the ball and passed the ball back to Schalkwyk who had moved into the Wits 18 yard area, Schalkwyk miscued his first time shot and the ball rolled to Kaizer Junior who needed no second invitation in giving Chiefs the lead.

After twenty seven minutes Chiefs could have doubled their advantage after Kaizer Junior won an aerial dual and flicked the ball towards Schalkwyk, Wits tormentor in Chiefs proceeded to again catch the Wits defense flat footed. As he layed on a pass to Gerald Sibeko who came screeching down the left wing, Sibeko wasted no time upon collecting the ball as he shot goal wards immediately, only to watch on as Wits goalkeeper Josephs was at full stretch to clear away the ball.

On the half hour mark Noah Chivutha sent a corner from the right in towards goal, Rowen Fernandez came out and punched the ball clear; the rebound fell once again to Chivutha who sent in a looping cross to the far post. The ball evaded Fernandez and the Chiefs defense as it flew towards Phil Evans lurking at the back post, had Evans made the slightest of contact with the ball and Wits would have found themselves level. Fortunately enough for Chiefs Evans to could not get to the ball and it sailed out with out giving Chiefs any problems.

Six minutes before the interval Kaizer Motaung Junior could have completed his brace, after some neat short passing between Siyabonga Nkosi and Gert Schalkwyk saw the latter deftly chip the Wits defense. With Kaizer Junior running onto the ball after easily controlling the ball, the Amakhosi striker wasted the chance as he blasted the ball high over Joseph’s goal post. The first half ended with Chiefs leading the students by a goal to nil.

Nine minutes into the second and Chiefs once again bombarded the Wits goal, as Arthur Zwane galloping down the right, played a ball to the head of Kaizer Junior whose attempt at goal was on target again Josephs was called into action and saved the ball on the line.

In the sixty fifth minute former Orlando Pirates striker Phumodzo Manenzhe on as a second half substitute made his way into the Chiefs 18 yard area, and a combination of Rowen Fernandez and Jimmy Tau could not stop his charge. It was left to Fabian McCarthy to push him wide and forced him into taking his shot which went into the side netting.

Chiefs were relentless in their pursuit of goals and had Wits on the back foot for lengthy periods in the second half, and must have thought that they increased their lead with a quarter of an hour to go. Off a Chiefs corner from the right the ball fell invitingly for Patrick Mayo who on hit the ball on the volley, again Josephs came out trumps and elbowed the ball to safety. The final bit of action in the game came in the 88th minute when a ferocious curling Marwan Bantam free kick managed to sail over the Chiefs wall, but Amakhosi keeper Rowen Fernandez made a superb stop to ensure he kept his ninth clean sheet of the season.

Victory for Chiefs over Wits was the kind of tonic Ernst Middendorp was looking for to get his team charged up ahead of their first ABSA Cup Game against Golden Arrows in a week’s time. The Chiefs coaches decision to take his team on a midweek outing to watch the Proteas defeat Pakistan at the Wanderers seemed to have motivated his team, as the put on one of their best performances of the season.

Line Up’s:

BidVest Wits: 1. M. Josephs, 15. N. Chivutha, 21. K. Denge (28. Manenzhe 55 min), 2. P. Evans, 5. R. Gariseb, 25. A. Hendricks, 32. M. Bantam, 23. A. Lobo, 11. Z. Ndhlovu (7. Senokoane 46 min), 19. M. De Jesus, 27. E. Mtsweni (8. Manuel 78 min)

Substitutes: 30. W. Robinson, 9. B. Moleyane, 28. P. Manenzhe, 24. E. Phillips, 8. K. Manuel, 7. B. Senokoane, 13. E. Tinkler

Coach: Boebie Solomons

Kaizer Chiefs: 1. R. Fernandez, 6. F. McCarthy, 2. J. Tau, 21. P. Mayo, 4. C. Nzama, 27. G. Sibeko, 18. A. Zwane (33. Mototo 90+), 25. G. Schalkwyk, 10. S. Nkosi (12. Mooki 75 min), 7. K. Motaung Junior, 28. D. Spencer

Substitutes: 32. I. Khune, 31. D. Radebe, 9. S. Djiehoua, 12. T. Mooki, 24. D. Mathebula, 33. D. Mototo, 11. E. Ngobese

Officials:

Referee: Matthew Dyer
Assistant 1: Toko Malebo
Assistant 2: Reginald Motloung
4th Official: Johnny Du Toit
Match Commissioner: Robert Pillay

Middendorp - 'It's all over for us'

Embattled Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp has admitted that 'Amakhosi' are officially out of the 2006/07 Castle Premiership title raceThis follows Chiefs' shock 0-1 defeat by Golden Arrows at Oppenheimer Stadium in Orkney on Saturday. The loss was 'Amakhosi's second defeat in a row after losing 2-1 to Mamelodi Sundowns last week.

"Let's face facts. We are in no position to challenge for league honours," Middendorp told the Daily Sun.

The German mentor added: "Even if we win the nine remaining league games it will not help us. I hope the boys regain their confidence and turn things around. These are trying times and we need to start winning games."

Middendorp agreed that his charges produced their worst performance ever on Saturday.

He said Zambian international striker Rotson Kilambe and Kaizer Motaung Jnr were unable to convert the numerous chances created by Siyabonga Nkosi.

"I told the players before the match that they could beat Arrows. But I could sense from their looks that their spirit was down. I was hoping that Simphiwe Tshabalala would come and save us but he joined us injured. Shaun Bartlett is also injured. What can I do with these injuries?

A woman of style and moral substance :Adelaide Tambo

Love and marriage: A picture taken at the wedding of Oliver and Adelaide Tambo, with best man Anton Lembede on Oliver’s right; and Oliver and Adelaide Tambo with Nelson Mandela after their return from exile in 1990. She was widowed on the eve of the country’s coming to democracy when Oliver, having led the ANC in exile for decades, died in 1993 Picture: ©ANC archives

Activist: Adelaide Tambo, centre, in 1990. Five years later she was to take a moral and political stand against the controversial actions of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Picture: Robert Botha

She worked up to 20 hours a day as a nurse to support her family, and still managed to be a mother to young ANC students in London

Adelaide Tambo was a doughty mother who served the struggle for liberation, writes Chris Barron.

Soon after arriving in London in 1960 to join her husband Oliver, who had left South Africa after the Sharpeville massacre to lead the ANC in exile, Adelaide Tambo began house-hunting.

She and her three young children had been hastily put up in an empty barn of a house — “this miserable house”, she called it — in Finchley; it had clearly not been occupied since at least World War Two .

It was early winter and too cold to sleep or bath upstairs. Instead, Adelaide and the children washed in a basin and bedded down on the floor in the lounge, which at least had the advantage of a fireplace. There was so much damp around, however, that when she got the fire going, water would ooze from the walls.

Her need for more suitable accommodation was dire. W ithout Oliver to help her, she scanned the newspapers for advertisements and made calls from the corner telephone booth.

She quickly established that racism was not confined to South Africa.

“In England in those days, where there were empty flats there were notices on the window: ‘To let — no Irish, no blacks, no dogs,’ ” she said 40 years later.

She saw a flat advertised in Golders Green and the agent arranged for someone to show her around.

“I thought it was the answer. I phoned the agent. She hadn’t seen me but had been told I wasn’t white.

“She pushed up the price from £7 to £12 a week.” Adelaide said she still wanted it.

“Are you coloured?” she was asked.

“No,” she replied. “I’m an African.”

The agent persisted. “Are you black?”

“Yes,” said Adelaide. “Very black.”

“Are you black like a West Indian, or have you got more of an olive colour? Can you pass as someone from the Continent?”

“No,” replied Adelaide. “I’m very black.”

“I’m sorry,” said the agent. “I can’t help you.”

Adelaide Tambo was a determined, obstinate, take-no-prisoners kind of person who refused to feel sorry for herself or allow circumstances to get on top of her. She was guided by what she believed was right and never wavered from the direction given by her unerring moral compass.

An example of this was in 1995 when she led 11 members out of the ANC Women’s League because she had moral qualms about the leadership of its president — and her one-time friend — Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

Adelaide was 30 when she left South Africa for Swaziland in July 1960, disguised as a Swazi peasant . From there she and the children were taken to Botswana and then flown to Katanga province in the Congo. Katanga leader Moise Tshombe had seceded from Patrice Lumumba’s Congo republic, and as her Dakota landed, it was surrounded by soldiers .

Typically, she was keen to confront them, but the pilot pleaded with her to let him handle the situation. “Anything can happen. You can be shot, bayoneted, stabbed with a knife. Whatever happens, please do not fight back.”

She and the children were placed under arrest until Tshombe decided what to do with them. At 3am she was told she could continue her journey to Ghana.

She’d been told that Oliver would be waiting for her there, but when she arrived she was told he had left for London. When she got to London she was told he had gone to the United Nations in New York.

For the next 30 years she saw very little of him, and even on the rare and hurried occasions he was able to pop in, the constant presence of his entourage and demands on his attention made it virtually impossible for them to be alone as a family.

In a rare fit of anger she told him that he must rather stay at a hotel than at home because his visits were disruptive.

She worked anything from 12 to 20 hours a day as a nurse to support her family, and still managed to be a mother to young ANC students — the future President Thabo Mbeki among them — passing through London, needing to be fed, comforted and advised.

After a Peeping Tom broke into her property while she was on night shift, she decided that her children needed more care than she could give them, and approached the British Defence and Aid Fund for money to send them to expensive boarding schools.

The fund was reluctant, but she insisted. “I was damned if my children would have anything but the best in this country,” she told Oliver’s biographer, Luli Callinicos.

She was equally damned if she would let them be the butt of racial insults.

When her son Dali phoned her in a state after a racial incident at school, she went straight from her night shift to confront the headmaster and didn’t let the matter drop until he had made a public apology at school assembly, with her looking on.

Another incident that demonstrated her sometimes impulsive, derring- do attitude to misfortune was when there was a fire at her home. She immediately knotted some sheets and jumped out of the window. The knots didn’t hold and she fell to the ground, suffering fractures to her legs and hip.

She had to undergo serious surgery and her injuries contributed to the rheumatoid arthritis that plagued her in later life.

By the time she got to England, Adelaide was already a seasoned fighter.

Born in Vereeniging on July 18 1929, she was 10 when she witnessed her frail grandfather being roughly manhandled by white policemen after a riot in which a policeman had been killed.

She vowed then that she would do whatever it took to overthrow apartheid.

At the age of 15 she tried to join the ANC, but was told she was too young. Instead she made herself useful as a courier.

As a 17-year-old schoolgirl at Orlando High in Soweto, she was chosen to be a speaker at the launch of a new branch of the ANC Youth League. Her fellow speaker got an attack of nerves and withdrew, but Adelaide, remembered even at that age as being confident, assertive and determined, made a great impression on the president of the ANCYL, Oliver Tambo.

They met and began a long correspondence that eventually led to them going out together . On their first date Adelaide laid down the ground rules of exactly what Oliver could and couldn’t do with her.

In 1956 they married, but it was touch and go because, a couple of weeks before the wedding, Oliver was arrested along with other ANC leaders on charges of high treason.

After school Adelaide went to a teaching hospital in Pretoria to train as a nurse, and started a branch of the ANCYL at a nursing home.

In 1989, in London, Adelaide was called to the phone; it was Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, saying that Oliver had had a stroke and would be flown to London in mining magnate Tiny Rowland’s jet. She must have an ambulance ready to rush him to hospital, Kaunda said .

Rowland was a great friend of Kaunda’s and through him became a friend of the Tambos. When they returned to South Africa in December 1990, he made them a present of his mansion in Sandhurst, Johannesburg, which is where Adelaide lived until her death. Oliver died in 1993.

Adelaide became a member of the National Assembly in 1994, resigning after her first five-year term.

She continued her life of public service , however, working with the aged and with physically handicapped children — the “differently abled”, as she called them — in Soweto.

She was given the Order of the Baobab in Gold in 2002, and the Order of Simon of Cyrene, the highest order in the Anglican church for distinguished service by lay people.

Adelaide dressed regally — celebrated Derber’s couturier Eric Pugin made her dresses — but never let her huge fame and stature go to her head.

The only thing that went there were the flamboyant headdresses that she loved so much and carried off so easily at charity events where her presence was always considered a great coup by the organisers.

She remained gracious, dignified, warm, friendly, approachable and generous (she seldom allowed visitors, even journalists, to leave her home without a gift) to the end.

Adelaide Tambo died at home on Wednesday evening of a suspected heart attack. She was 77 years old.

Brazilians edge out Chiefs in Loftus thriller

Mamelodi Sundowns 2 (7. Torrealba 10 min, 8. Chabangu 51 min) Kaizer Chiefs (1. Fernandez 32 min)
Vodacom Loftus Stadium, Tshwane
Premier Soccer League
Kick Off: 15h45
3rd f February 2007
Temperature: 34.0 °C

Kaizer Chiefs lost further ground in the title race as they were defeated by two goals to one by defending PSL Champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday afternoon, with Sundowns having three games in hand over The Amakhosi it was a game Chiefs could ill afford to lose.

In what was a very open and attacking game Chiefs perhaps let themselves down and were unable to make the most of a number of goalkeeping errors by Brian Baloyi, and were also unable to make the most of the numerical advantage they held over Sundowns for the final twenty four minutes of the game after Jose Torrealba received his marching orders in the sixty six minutes.

In this high paced high energy game at times it seemed as though the game was being played in fast forward, Sundowns had the first scoring opportunity inside the first two minutes. Rowen Fernandez was able to push away a Lerato Chabangu cross from the left with Jose Torrealba putting the Chiefs keeper under pressure, Fernandez though did well to get to the ball as he pushed it away to safety.

Sundowns took the lead ten minutes in when Michael Manzini blocked a Chiefs clearance from just past the halfway line; the ball flew over the Chiefs defense and invitingly for Godfrey Sapula. The Sundowns midfielder set Jose Torrealba on his way to goal with a neat over head flick, the Venezuelan striker ran onto the passed and knocked the ball past Fernandez to hand Sundowns the advantage.

Nine minutes later and a comedy of errors by Sundowns at the back could have seen Chiefs level, it started when Brian Baloyi in characteristic fashion fluffed a cross and Josta Dladla too could not effectively get rid of the ball. Instead Scara Ngobese was able to take a pot shot at goal which was blocked by a Sundowns defender; Siyabonga Nkosi got hold of the rebounded ball and sent a cross into the danger area which Vuyo Mere knocked towards his own goal.

Brian Baloyi back tracked and got to the ball in time to save his defender from the embarrassment of putting the ball into his own net.

Has the half hour mark approached Scara Ngobese floated a beautiful looking ball towards Kaizer Junior, who did well to control the ball as he skipped past Kannemeyer the Sundowns defender threw out his leg and sent the Motaung crashing to the ground.

The referee duly pointed to the spot and Rowen Fernandez took the ensuing spot kick and sent Brian Baloyi the wrong way, the referee called Fernandez back and the kick had to be retaken as Chiefs midfielder Gerald Sibeko had encroached into the Sundowns 18 yard area. The second time around Fernandez kick was stopped by Baloyi but the Chiefs keeper pounced on the rebound, to ultimately score his first ever goal for Chiefs in open play. Fernandez goal ensured that the first half ended 1-1.

Chiefs had the opportunity to have taken the lead five minutes into the second half, when Brian Baloyi under pressure from David Radebe dropped the ball at the Chiefs striker’s feet. Radebe shot the ball goal wards on this occasion it was Baloyi whose blushes were spared as his defense got back in time to clear the ball off the line, instead of taking the lead Chiefs found themselves a goal down a minute later.

When in the fifty first minute Rowen Fernandez was unable to hold a Josta Dladla shot, and when the Chiefs keeper dropped the ball Lerato Chabangu was on hand to put the ball home from close range to give Sundowns the lead once again.

In the sixty second minute Sundowns could have made certain of the game, Esrom Nyanadoro’s shot come cross from the right flew over the Chiefs defense and knocked the top of Fernandez goal. Four minutes after that Sundowns found themselves a man down when Jose Torrealba said something to referee Ace Ncobo, who wasted no time in producing a red card and sent the Sundowns striker packing.

Chiefs though were unable to take advantage of the fact that they had a man more than the opposition, The Amakhosi’s final chance of the second half fell to substitute Serge Djiehoua in the 84th minute who after playing neat one two with Kaizer Motaung Junior.

Djiehoua collected the return pass and ran towards goal; his close range effort was well stopped by Brian Baloyi who did well to narrow down the angle which gave Djiehoua very few options as he was forced into trying his luck at goal.

With defeat at the hands of Sundowns Chiefs will have to do a lot of soul searching ahead of their next game against Golden Arrows in a week time, The Amakhosi will need no reminding of the fact that they have placed themselves under enormous pressure by dropping more points in the title race.

Ernst Middendorp will be looking to pick up the pieces in the coming week as Chiefs relinquish the top spot in the league, should they want to claim it back their can be no slip us from The Amakhosi from now to the 26th May.

Line Up’s:

Mamelodi Sundowns: 99. B. Baloyi, 14. S. Moriri (89. Apataki 74 min), 3. E. Nyandoro, 30. V. Mere, 10. G. Sapula (21. Carelse 63 min), 66. D. Kannemeyer, 19. B. Mhlongo, 25. M. Manzini, 9. J. Dladla, 7. J. Torrealba, 8. L. Chabangu (2. Ntwagae 88 min)

Substitutes: 28. J. Mabokgwane, 21. B. Carelse, 6. F. Costa, 89. P. Apataki, 13. L. Ndlela, 2. O. Ntwagae, 23. P. Ndlovu

Kaizer Chiefs: Kaizer Chiefs: 1. R. Fernandez, 4. C. Nzama, 2. J. Tau, 21. P. Mayo, 33. D. Mototo (13. Obua 81 min), 27. G. Sibeko (25. Schalkwyk 86 min), 8. T. Nengomasha, 11. E. Ngobese, 10. S. Nkosi, 31. D. Radebe (9. Djiehoua 75 min), 7. K. Motaung Junior

Substitutes: 16. R. Wuest, 18. A. Zwane, 25. G. Schalkwyk, 13. D. Obua, 9. S. Djiehoua 24. D. Mathebula, 6. F. McCarthy

Cards: Mamelodi Sundowns: Red Cards, 7. Jose Torrealba 66 min Kaizer Chiefs: Yellow Cards, 9. Serge Djiehoua 90+

Officials:

Referee: Ace Ncobo
Assistant 1: Luyanda Somi
Assistant 2: Manutse Nayo
4TH Official: Matthew Dyer
Match Commissioner: Jankey Mabitsela

Mototo bags number 500

On the 10th August 1996 Thabang Lebese’s solitary goal against Jomo Cosmos in The Amakhosi’s first game in the inaugural season of the Premier Soccer League in the 1996-1997 season, opened up Chiefs goal scoring account in the PSL.This is after the NSL(National Soccer League) was dismantled after some 20yrs to form the new PSL.

Eleven seasons later and Chiefs managed to score their 500th PSL goal, against the same opponents that they scored their first PSL goal against back in 1996. As Chiefs went down 2-1 against Cosmos on Sunday most Chiefs fans were more concerned with the fact that their team did not take three points with them back to Johannesburg, and it might have passed them by that Chiefs had reached a historical landmark during the game.

Perhaps only a small number of The Amakhosi faithful in Orkney would have given some thought to the fact that when, Ditheko Mototo managed to find an equalizer in the twenty-fifth minute of Sunday’s game against Cosmos, he also wrote himself into the Chiefs history books scoring PSL goal number 500 for The Amakhosi; it was not just the fans who were not aware of the historical importance of Mototo’s goal.

Speaking after Sunday’s game Mototo who does not often work his way onto the score sheet, was not aware that he just become apart of history.

The Chiefs defender said; “to tell you the truth I really did not know that the goal I scored was Chiefs 500th in the PSL, when we went into the change room at half time a couple of the guys came to me and congratulated and explained to me the importance of the goal”.

Mototo explained further; “I think losing the game took some of the sparkle off the goal, had we won the game it would obviously have felt much better, it does though feel nice to know that you have contributed to the history of this wonderful team”.

Having now notched up their 500th PSL goal Chiefs will now be aiming to get their next 100 PSL goals; on average it has taken The Amakhosi two years to score 100 goals so expect Chiefs to score their 600th PSL Goal sometime in January 2009. Chiefs first opportunity to begin carving out their next 100 goals comes this Saturday when they host Ajax Cape Town, in a league game to be played at Loftus Stadium in Tshwane.

Kaizer Chiefs Milestone PSL Goals

PSL Goal Number One

Thabang Lebese
10th August 1996
Kaizer Chiefs 1 Jomo Cosmos 0

PSL Goal Number 100

Marc Batchelor
25th April 1998
Kaizer Chiefs 2 Moroka Swallows 0
Chiefs second goal in the game was their 100th

PSL Goal Number 200

Emeka Mamale
1st December 1999
Kaizer Chiefs 1 SuperSport United 0

PSL Goal Number 300

Aime Kitenge (own goal)
26th September 2002
Kaizer Chiefs 1 Dynamos 0

PSL Goal Number 400

Emmanuel Ngobese
5th January 2005
Kaizer Chiefs 1 Santos 0
PSL Goal Number 500

Ditheko Mototo
21st January 2007
Jomo Cosmos 2 Kaizer Chiefs 1

Kaizer Chiefs turns 37!!

As the first week of the New Year comes to an end there has for the past three decades been a good reason for, Kaizer Chiefs fans and players alike to look forward to the culmination of the first week of the year.

The reason for this and the fact that the club and its fans have a second celebration on the back of the New Year's festivities a few days earlier is simple.

The final day of the first week of January or to be precise the 7th January marks the day that Kaizer Chiefs was founded back in 1970, by current club chairman Kaizer Motaung along with the assistance of a number of friends and associates.

Kaizer Motaung founded the club upon his return from the United States of America where he had been playing in the old North American League for the Atlanta Chiefs, whose motif with a few additions eventually became the logo which has adorned the Kaizer Chiefs jersey ever since.

In their short history, Kaizer Chiefs have entered South African Football Folklore as perhaps the most successful team in the country having won more trophies and accolades in its thirty seven year existence, then most teams currently campaigning in the South African professional leagues.

Chiefs finest moment in recent years amongst the many titles and trophies they have amassed over time, has to be when the club was nominated as the 2001 Confederation of African Football Club of the Year.

It was an honour bestowed upon them after Chiefs had won three trophies in the space of three months towards the end of 2001, included in that wonderful run of cup triumphs from September to December 2001 was the club's triumph in the African Cup Winners Cup otherwise known as the Nelson Mandela Cup.

In July 2006 Chiefs scored another coup for South African Football when they managed to defeat English Premier League Giants Manchester United in the Vodacom Challenge, thanks to an inspirational meeting the team had with former South African President Nelson Mandela the day before the final.

Down the years, the club has earned the nickname The Amakhosi which is a translation of the word Chiefs from English to a number of the vernacular African languages.

The team has also been Chiefs off the field in South African football, leading the way with a number of new innovations, and are still the only team in South Africa to have their own monthly magazine.

The club was also the first to broaden its licensing and merchandising programme, and has made available in the market place products such as blankets, towels and shoes to name a few available to their legions of fans to happily display their support for the club.

As Chiefs enter their 37th year in existence, they do so with the knowledge that by the time the club nears its thirty ninth birthday, it will begin playing matches in its very own stadium, to be built in the Mogale Municipality west of the Johannesburg CBD.

Construction of The Amakhosi Stadium which is due to begin soon will see Chiefs become the first soccer team to, both own and operate their own Stadium which is earmarked for completion in December 2008.

While the future looks bright for Chiefs and as those currently in the employment of the club hope to build on Chiefs glittering past, this was filled with many happy walks to the podium to collect the cup at the end of another triumphant Cup or league campaign. They will know that the best wealth the club possess is its millions of fans not just in South Africa but in recent years the club has had a growing legion of supporters across the globe, and it is the fans who will make sure that the club sees many more happy birthdays.

To Kaizer Chiefs from all players and staff to all the fans in South Africa and around the world happy birthday.

Time to stay up

Update on Kaizer Chiefs' league encounters:

There was always the possibility that the start of the week could turn out to resemble the overcast skies that we have experienced over Johannesburg in recent times.

It could have been a blue Monday for us had we not pushed hard in the second half against Benoni United on Sunday, as we eventually got the goals which won us the points. The reason I say it could have turned out differently is because in the first half of Sunday’s game against Benoni, the visiting team gave as good as they got - as much as we attacked them they threw back at us.

During that first half, we were fortunate that a free-kick Benoni Premier United had after about 30 minutes ricocheted off the cross bar and went out. We too had numerous scoring chances in the opening period but we just could not find the breakthrough.

Having Siyabonga Nkosi back did make a difference for us; he along with Gert Schalkwyk and Kaizer Junior did ask a number of questions of the Benoni defence. In the second half we picked up the tempo and got the goals that we deserved - as a coach when you make a substitution your intention is to bring on players who will make a difference and change the current state of the game.

Thankfully on Sunday a double substitution we made inside the first 10 minutes of the second half helped lift our game, as Arthur Zwane and Scara Ngobese came off the bench and helped give the guys a boost. The pair were involved in the action from the beginning. Scara got us the breakthrough with a well-taken goal, Arthur battled well and he too was able to get in a number of dangerous crosses into the Benoni penalty area.

I think that we improved a lot in the second half of Sunday’s game and we should have continued pressurizing the opposition and should have pressed for more goals.

Having said that,I must add that Siyabonga Nkosi was unfortunate not to have scored from a free-kick late on in the second half. The fact that we are asking questions of the opposition from set pieces, throw-ins and dead balls situations show that we are making a lot of strides in becoming a complete team.

There are a number of issues that occurred prior to and during Sunday’s game which I wish to bring to light. The first thing is I know that it was reported that we started with a 4-5-1 combination against Benoni United. Actually this is not entirely true - I have said this before and I will make it clear again, against Benoni we played using two strikers in a 4-4-2 formation. This is not the first time that Gert Schalkwyk has been used as a second striker; if you can race your mind back to the pre-season one would find that we used him as second striker in a number of pre season matches. It is a position where he has slotted into without any difficulty and as time goes on, and if the need arises, I am certain that we could continue using him as a second striker.

Another issue that I feel needs addressing, is the treatment been meted out by a number of fans towards David Obua. It is very strange for me to see that a year ago Obua could do no wrong and was the darling of all the fans - today after a few indifferent performances he has become public enemy number one.

Obua might not be having the best of times on the field of play but that is no reason for people to shout abuse at him, all players go through good and bad spells. Instead of being abusive to him or any player experiencing a dip in form, we need to help guide them through what can sometimes be a very trying and testing time. My advice is to help the players through their tough times by supporting them and being an extra leg to stand on and be a motivating factor in getting them back to their best once more.

The final issue I would like to raise is the way our team began playing around with the ball after we had scored our second goal on Sunday. I have said it before that I am not one who encourages ‘Tsamaya’ football. I think that dancing on the ball and embarrassing your opponent by doing these crazy tricks is really disrespectful and I do not approve of it. I did raise this with the team on Sunday and I said that it must not happen; I recall a game against Sundowns last season when one of their players toyed around with us.

We did not like it and I told my players at that time that in the same way that we did not like being messed around with; we should not do it in matches when we are dominating proceedings. Instead I would prefer for our team to press home the advantage and go for more goals, we need goals because there could come a time when goal difference could work against us.

When that does happen we will then run back and think about the time when we should have scored goals instead we preferred to behave like the Harlem Globetrotters and put up an exhibition instead of scoring goals.

Anyway I think I have said a lot today and will communicate with you later in the week closer to our game against Jomo Cosmos on Saturday, which is scheduled to be played in Durban on Saturday afternoon.

Amakhosi for Life

Ernst Middendorp
Kaizer Chiefs Head Coach

A new car: your worst investment

YOUR car is going down in value by thousands a month!

The chances are good that it dropped by 20% as you drove it off the showroom floor!

A car is the second biggest outlay most people make. It is a consumer durable, not an investment – but because it can impoverish over the long term, it could be called the worst investment.

Depreciation is the dirty word that the motor industry and the media seldom mention.

The table plots the one, two and three-year depreciation of a random sample of 23 cars. They range in price from the Nissan 1 400 at R70 000 to the Porsche Cayenne at R1,4m. The table compares the prices of these vehicles when they were new to their present trade-in value. (Click here to view the table)

The worst example, the Jeep Cherokee Laredo V8 plummeted 38% in value from R382 000 to R237 500 in a year. That was R12 000 per month.

The best, ironically, the Porsche Cayenne, fell by only 11,9%. It doesn’t sound like much in percentage terms but in rands the drop was R175 000 – R14 500 a month!

One third of the sample depreciated by more than 30% in the first year. Less than a third fell in value by less than 20%.

The depreciation over two and three years is shown in columns three and six. It is, expressed in percentage decline per annum. The table shows that depreciation in years two and three starts to level off. Many cars these days can last 20 years.

This sample represents less than 10% of the cars available on the SA market. One cannot make judgments about any particular brand - but it does confirm that depreciation, though often unseen, makes fuel costs look trivial.

According to the latest vehicle statistics released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA), more than 200 000 new cars have been sold since January.

Tony Twine, director and senior economist at Econometrix, describes the life cycle of a car: “During the first year, the value of the car decreases at a steep rate. For the next four years, the car depreciates at a more gentle, slower pace, with a further step down in value in the sixth year. Beyond this, the value of the rate of depreciation flattens out.”

Borrowing money to purchase a depreciating asset is the worst “investment” you can make. Sages say: “Buy things that appreciate and pay for the use of the things that depreciate.”

“A car is not an investment; you use it and then discard it”, says Piet Viljoen of

Regarding Capital Management (RE:CM).

He says the definition of an investment is a security of principal, with the potential of growth and this does not apply to a car, explains Viljoen.

“Each person will do what they want to maximise their own value or utility”, says Viljoen.

A new car usually involves allocating a large amount of money into a diminishing asset.

Opportunity cost must be taken into account. Deciding to buy a luxury model now can detract significantly from one’s wealth in later life.

“If a person prefers to buy a fancy car as opposed to investing a portion, they must realise they will fall behind in the wealth accumulation stakes”, adds Viljoen.

People should think more carefully about the objectives of having a car, reckons Twine.

“They are swept along by the emotion of a brand new car and don’t take into account what the car is going to be used for,” warns Twine.

Twine advises leasing if the car is to be used purely as a means of transport. “This will decrease the costs of owning the use of a car, rather than the vehicle itself”.

Up to now, leasing has been restricted to companies and professionals who use their vehicles to generate income. The new Consumer Credit Bill, which is likely to come into effect in 2007, will allow for private leasing.

After owning the car for six years, the car will be worth around 20% of its original value, excluding VAT, adds Twine. A brand new car worth R500 000 will be worth about R100 000 after six years, if you are lucky.

“To avoid the early rapid depreciation of a new vehicle, rather buy a second-hand car,” advises Twine.

Let’s look at the numbers: instead of spending R500 000 on a new car, one could buy a three-year-old model of the same type for R300 000 and invest the balance.

The cost of ownership of the new car is R400 000 during the period. Meanwhile the R300 000 car after seven years will be worth R60 000, so the depreciation cost will be R240 000. At only 4,2% a year after tax, a R200 000 money market investment would have grown over six years to R256 000. The second-hand car owner is thus ahead by R16 000 while the new car owner is down by R400 000. Had the second hand car buyer put the money into the JSE, the relative situation would have been far better.

Some makes and models depreciate faster and this all depends on market forces, says a statistician who monitors car values.

“If the market likes it, will depreciate more slowly,” he reckons.

He adds that the technology race is over and the reliability of a particular is no longer a factor. Whether a car holds its value depends more on what car the public would like to be seen in. Reputation of the brand is critical.

Lower-priced vehicles suffer less depreciation because a larger number of prospective second hand buyers can afford them, says Twine.

Twine says the rate of increase of new car prices in the future determines how fast a particular make and model will depreciate.

He maintains that “the higher car inflation is, the greater the residual value and the lower the depreciation”.

Other factors do affect the rate of depreciation, he adds. “Historically, the slowest depreciation of vehicles hangs around the 1800cc engine size, manual transmissions and diesel engines”.

Sources: recommended retail price figures from Car Magazine editions from 2003-2005. Trade values from TransUnion Mead & McGrouther Auto dealers Guide.

New Year Resolutions : Weigh(t) Options

The slimming products industry boasts wonderful sales figures in January as the recent festive gluttony and New Year's resolutions have thousands seeking a short-cut to fat shedding.

But Cape Town dietician Maya Snijders-Naumann says the industry "sells the idea to millions of overweight people that you can solve a problem without solving it - no responsibility for your actions, no work".

Last week in a pharmacy I overheard a woman tell an assistant that she was "desperate" to lose weight and then ask whether a certain weight-loss product worked.

"Yes," the assistant replied, with certainty.

In another pharmacy I asked an assistant which product among the many on sale was the most effective and he singled out one without any hesitation.

These were sales assistants, not pharmacists, offering apparently authoritative advice to consumers who've been socialised to regard a pharmacy as a credible source of medical wisdom.

"Nobody manning a shop floor should be giving dietary advice," says Professor Tessa van der Merwe, who heads the country's first specialised centre for obesity in Pretoria, and chairs the SA Society for the Study of Obesity.

"Obesity is a medical condition, not a cosmetic issue."

For Van der Merwe, the problem is deadly serious.

"People make a huge mistake believing that 'herbal' remedies are harmless. If they take more than the recommended dose - which many do - the 'herbs' can have catastrophic interactions with drugs for high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions - exactly the diseases that obese people develop and are likely to be medicated for."

Many of the ingredients in weight loss products have been found to aid weight loss, Van der Merwe says, but in massive concentrations.

"In order to sell their products at a reasonable price, the manufacturers use the active ingredients in concentrations so minute as to make them totally ineffective."

And here's the really sobering news: "Of the few products that have been found to be effective for weight loss in controlled studies, the effect never lasts more than four weeks because the body becomes tolerant to the ingredients, and the greatest result of all the studies was a loss of just over 1kg."

nAmong the many products currently on sale are a number of USN (Ultimate Sports Nutrition) products which were the subject of Advertising Standards Authority rulings last November. They include:

USN Leanfast snack bar: Complainant Dr Harris Steinman said the words "leanfast" and "low calorie nutrition snack" implied that it would aid weight loss when it actually contains 1996,4kJ per 100g - almost the same as a slab of full cream chocolate.

In response, USN undertook to amend the words "low calorie" but said "Leanfast" was the name of the product and did not imply slimming or weight loss. Unsurprisingly, the ASA disagreed.

The company has until February to rid the shelves of the current Leanfast bars.

USN Phedra-Cut Stimulant-Free: Dr Steinman contended that the product's claims on its website - "burns fat for energy", "helps control carb storage", "advanced appetite control" and "increases metabolic rate" required substantiation. The company offered to change the claims.

Once upon 2007

Change with change before change changes you, forcefully. The new year is here and with it we hope that it brings wealth, health, wisdom, growth, love, peace and unity. As usual, people make resolutions they can't keep. Me not falling for that trap, again.

To all those that have seen the new year :Give Tanx!
Let's keep rocking!