Kick Off

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Kick Off

Highlights of the 2020/21 season

LETTERS to the editor

STAR LETTER

THE MONTH THAT WAS

ALSO LAST MONTH…

All Hail King Peter! • The readers have spoken… Mamelodi Sundowns forward Peter Shalulile is this season’s KICK OFF Footballer of the Season. From making a move that was greeted with raised eye-brows at the beginning of the season, despite having been the joint league top-scorer in the previous campaign, Shalulile has turned the tables on his critics. KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo looks at how the Namibian beat the odds.

Pirates’ report card • Orlando Pirates ended their six-year trophy drought this had a strong enough squad to wrestle the league title past season, but sections of The Ghost remain unconvinced away from Mamelodi Sundowns, only for them to finish about the way coach Josef Zinnbauer has used the players third. So, who did Zinnbauer use and what did he get at his disposal. There is a school of thought that says Pirates out of them? KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo investigates.

Heroes and zeroes • After their dismal 2020-21 DStv Premiership season in which Kaizer Chiefs managed to salvage something on the final day by scraping into the top eight, it has been one of the worst campaigns in the club’s 51-year history. But where exactly does it place? KICK OFF’s Mark Gleeson looks back in history to tell the story of all Chiefs’ 50 completed league seasons.

Chiefs’League history Season-by-season

‘People only remember winners’ • Aubrey Modiba has always known how to chase opportunities, from his early teenage years when he was one of just two players selected out of 700 hopefuls in Limpopo for the School of Excellence. He made his way into the professional ranks via the Nedbank Ke Yona trials and is now earning a living playing for Mamelodi Sundowns, where he admits he played with fear upon signing at the beginning of the season. KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo spoke to the left-footer, who grew up a Kaizer Chiefs fan and made good his move to Gauteng courtesy of R20 from his grandmother.

TAKING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

‘I’m ready for the next challenge’ • SuperSport United goalkeeper Ronwen Williams is a stalwart of the local game and reveals to KICK OFF his thoughts on leaving home at a very age, getting Bafana Bafana nod ahead of a giant of the game and his hopes of one day winning the league title… though perhaps not with SuperSport United. Lovemore Moyo sat down with the Bafana Bafana first choice gloveman to hear his story.

BAFANA’S AFCON FAILURE

Can Baxter rekindle Chiefs’ glory day? • Stuart Baxter has returned for a second spell in charge of Kaizer Chiefs following his highly-successful first stint from 2012-15 in which he earned the club two league titles, the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup. The AmaKhosi faithful can only dream of that type of success now after six long years without a trophy – their barren run ironically starting after Baxter picked up the second of those DStv Premiership wins and then left the club. KICK OFF’s Nick Said takes a look back at the Englishman’s first stay at Naturena and what it might mean for the team going forward.

What Baxter said on his return • Stuart Baxter gave a wide-ranging interview when he was unveiled as the new coach at Kaizer Chiefs for his second spell, touching on a number of subjects, including his future plans. Here is what he had to say.

Poster Power

My Dream Team • During Orlando Pirates’ best spell since the turn of the century, Thulasizwe Mbuyane was one of the most popular players with The Ghost. ‘Juju’, as he is affectionately known, was in the Pirates team that won back-to-back ‘Trebles’ after oining from Free State Stars. He picks his Dream Team of...