The Soweto Derby wasn’t one to remember. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix
Cape Town – The poor-quality football dished up by both teams in Saturday’s Soweto Derby was a nauseating reminder of the low standard of play in the Premiership.
Kaizer Chiefs winning the bragging rights after an own goal did not even go close to compensating for a dismal match of hit-and-miss football.
Much like their first round League clash last October, both clashes were devoid of entertainment and just about delivered a goal (after Yusuf Maart’s freak goal last year).
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For most of the match, it looked neither team had the ability to make a telling impact on the match.
A few days ago, the Global Club Soccer Rankings were released. Only one South African club managed a slot in the top 500 clubs in the world.
Five-time PSL Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns slot in at 250th after they were previously listed at 200.
Orlando Pirates are 533rd, SuperSport 541, Cape Town City 563, Chiefs 565, Amazulu 579, Stellenbosch 582, Sekhukukune 587, Golden Arrows 593, TS Galaxy 594 and Chippa United 594.
The rest of the PSL clubs are out in the 600s.
Apart from reflecting the poor standard of the Premiership, it also suggests that not much quality will be available to Bafana Bafana. In this regard, it is worth noting that the highest-ranked clubs are all attached to Fifa’s highest world-ranking teams.
The top-rated clubs are Manchester City (England), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona, Real Madrid (both Spain), Arsenal, Liverpool (both England) and PSG (France).
‘The Brazilians’ have been the most professional outfit in the country by far, and it has shown in every aspect of South African football.
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They have shown the way in men’s and women’s football and their teams have been likened to a world-renowned club like Spanish giants Barcelona.
Many Premiership clubs live a ‘hand-to-mouth’ existence and as a result, professionalism flies out the window and without their monthly PSL grants, many clubs would cease to exist.
Some clubs have no power to attract sponsorships because they lack the finesse to set up the necessary infrastructures to run the club efficiently.
Last year, the national team coach Hugo Broos launched a scathing attack on South African football, saying it does not have quality players that can compete against the best in the world.
As it turned out, South Africa failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup despite repeated boasts that it runs one of the best leagues in Africa.
Broos has offered to meet with coaches in order to offer help, but it was declined.
The main point that Broos was driving home was that the PSL needs to produce more players that would become targets of foreign clubs, especially in the world’s leading countries.
Broos’ request has fallen on deaf ears. Safa now have Walter Steenbok as technical director and he too expressed the importance of meeting the coaches.
He is living in La La Land if he thinks he’ll achieve that objective. The Derby is proof of that.
@Herman_Gibbs