PSL resumes tight title race
Brad Morgan
7 January 2008
After a festive season break, South Africa's Premier Soccer League continues on Wednesday evening with a Cape Town derby between Ajax and Santos, a meeting between the team at the top of the log and the team in fifth place, in a hotly contested championship.
With all of the PSL's 16 clubs having played either 13 or 14 matches, the standings are remarkably close. Ajax, in first place on 26 points, are just eight points clear of Platinum Stars, the side in twelfth place.
Only five points separate Ajax and Santos, with both teams having played 13 matches. Both the Urban Warriors and the People’s Team will want to continue the form that saw them go into the break after a win over champions SuperSport United away from home and a victory over Mamelodi Sundowns respectively.
Sustained run of success
The fact of the matter, however, is that no team has been able to put together a sustained run of success. The least number of defeats suffered by any club is three - shared by Ajax, SuperSport United, and sixth placed Orlando Pirates.
Golden Arrows were in superb form early on, playing a brand of attractive and effective football, which was highlighted by the scoring exploits of their striker Richard Henyekane. But their form suddenly deserted them as the holiday break neared.
Only one win and four losses in their last five outings took Arrows from an unbeaten outfit, that had looked the team to beat, from top of the table to fourth place and trailing Ajax, SuperSport United and BidVest Wits in the standings.
'The Big Three'
For many years South African football was dominated by Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. Later the two Soweto giants were joined by Mamelodi Sundowns, creating the so-called "Big Three".
Their hold on the silverware in South African football was pretty solid, but in recent years that has changed. It probably has something to do with the massive sponsorships that the local game has attracted. They're unmatched on the African continent and the PSL is placed seventh on the list of leagues with the biggest sponsorship revenue in the world, thanks largely to a R1.6-billion television broadcast deal signed with SuperSport.
Recently, in December, PSL Chairman Irvin Khoza revealed that the league is in discussions with European broadcast giants Eurosport about a 200-match broadcast package of PSL matches.
2007/08 season
Last season, SuperSport United finished first, with Ajax Cape Town second and Santos third. Sundowns, the first of the "Big Three", were next, in fourth, with Kaizer Chiefs in sixth place and Orlando Pirates in eighth spot.
The first half of the 2008/09 season has seen the three glamour clubs struggling to make an impact at the top of the table again. Pirates, in sixth, lead the "Big Three", with Chiefs in seventh and Mamelodi Sundowns, despite being funded by the deep pockets of mining billionaire Patrice Motsepe, in ninth.
Heading into the second half of the season, the Brazilians will likely part ways with former Bafana Bafana captain Mbulelo Mabizela. The defender, while sidelined through an injury, was caught driving while drunk in Pietermaritzburg and then missed returning to Sundowns when training resumed at the end of December.
It is not the first time that Mabizela has got into trouble off the field of play, so his chances of staying with Sundowns appear slim.
The club hasn't enjoyed a good season thus far; despite their big names and big money, the Brazilians' record is an average one of five wins, four draws, and five losses. Now the team's coach Henri Michel is likely to face a charge of bringing the league into disrepute after he refused to speak to the media following Sundowns' loss to Ajax in December. A big fine awaits 'Downs.
From a distance, one senses some sort of disfunction at the club and reports suggest that Patrice Motsepe is not at all happy with how the side has performed thus far.
At the bottom
Only three points separate the bottom four teams – Free State Stars, Maritzburg United, Bay United, and Bloemfontein Celtic.
It has been a surprisingly poor season for Celtic, one of the best supported clubs in South Africa. Just before Christmas it led to the firing of Mich d'Avray, who was replaced by Owen Da Gama. D'Avray, however, will remain with Phunye Cele Cele as the club's technical director.
It hasn't all been bad news for Celtic; the club completed a deal in December, which attracted new co-owners, who splashed out R80-million to buy a 50 percent stake in the club.
Bloemfontein Celtic Academy
Celtic have also signed an exchange deal with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, which will lead to the establishment of the Bloemfontein Celtic Academy, which will host Sporting's up-and-coming players. The Portuguese club will invest R100-million in the project.
The new money and the new set-up could spur Celtic to a strong second half of the season. It is simply too tough to tell, however.
Take the case of Amazulu. The Usuthu's form had some thinking it was time to fire the club's coach Clive Barker. But then Amazulu turned the form book on its head with some excellent results.
Since the end of the October, they have beaten Ajax Cape Town, Bidvest Wits and Golden Arrows – three of the top four teams in the standings. They've also defeated the two bottom clubs, Bloemfontein Celtic and Bay United, drawn against Santos, and lost to Moroka Swallows, SuperSport United, and Kaizer Chiefs.
Ebb and flow
Amazulu's results are a microcosm of the results of many other clubs. They also reflect the contrasting fortunes of teams when compared with their fellow-Durbanites, Golden Arrows. Such as ebb and flow is to be expected during the course of a season.
It makes for an exciting league, but with such parity, it has become a war of attrition. Those with the ability to hang tough in the long run will survive. Those that lack the mental toughness …
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