South Africa’s much-loved match-up between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates takes place this Saturday, with the game at FNB already sold out as fans gear up for what they hope will be a thrilling and entertaining spectacle.
In his nine seasons with Amakhosi in the 1990s, Tovey featured in a number of enthralling Soweto Derbies, but says the feeling surrounding this fixture nowadays is very different to what it used to be in the past.
“It’s always a great week for the game in the country, even though – and I think you’ll get the same answer from a lot of the legends that played for Pirates and Chiefs – it seems a little bit of the bite has been taken out of it – I don’t know why,” the former Bafana Bafana and Chiefs captain tells snl24.com/kickoff.
“Yes it’s still a big game, but I don’t think it is as important as it was in the past, in different areas.”
Tovey explains his reasoning, saying that the rivalry between the two Soweto giants has been somewhat watered down.
“Some people may knock me down and say, ‘Ah, it still is as important!’,” he continues. “There was a period in time where, in the past, we used to fight the end. Now we’re living in an era where the sponsors are the same, and the clubs seem to have lost their identity of being apart, and being separate entities. The fans could never sit together in the past … so it’s little things there that give the answer. For me the Derby has lost a bit of its sparkle – what’s there is there now, you know. There’s a Derby this weekend, but I’m not hearing too much and not feeling too much – maybe 24 hours before the game, something will spark.”
SAFA’s technical director doesn’t deny the importance of the encounter however, but can’t help but feel a change from the derbies of yesteryear.
“The Derby will always be special – it’s one of the most special derbies in the world, never mind in Africa,” he says. “But it has lost a bit of its sparkle. I don’t know if it’s maybe where we are as a country. People aren’t as dependent on results of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates anymore like they used to be – that is what we are looking at. Families used to go hungry based on these results. But you don’t get that same feeling anymore, so from that aspect, it’s not the same.”
Kick-off on Saturday at FNB Stadium is set for 15h30.