WATCH | Jabu Mahlangu slams Chiefs and Pirates for playing ‘imihlola’ in derby

Outspoken Jabu Mahlangu has come out swinging, slamming the players for the poor standard of the Soweto derby.

Kaizer Chiefs beat Orlando Pirates 1-0 in their fifth successive DStv Premiership win over their bitter rivals at FNB Stadium on Saturday, but the former midfielder for both clubs wasn’t impressed by what he saw in the 90 minutes.

Mahlangu said the players of both teams dished out “imihlola”, loosely translated as rubbish or nonsense, and need to take “a hard look at themselves in the mirror” after their performance.

“What a disappointing Soweto derby, this is not it,” the former Bafana Bafana star said in a video posted on his social media platforms.

“These boys make us watch 'welding' [something below par] and it is about time we tell these boys to pull up their socks. The Soweto derby is watched in Europe, I think it is shown to about 20 countries and I stand to be corrected about this number.

“What we saw on Saturday is what we show the world. Players losing the ball, in the first half both teams couldn’t even combine three or four passes. Chiefs players pass to Pirates players and Pirates players pass back to Chiefs players, or they pass the ball outside.

“You expect those errors from young kids and not at that level of the Soweto derby — these boys are showing imihlola, it is imihlola that you are showing us. Yes, coaches have their mistakes or blunders but at the end of the day you are the ones playing on the pitch.

“In the first half there were no shots on target in a huge game like that and there is no direction. It is like you are watching 10-year-olds who converge where the ball is — that is what we were watching on Saturday.”

Mahlangu said the match should have ended in a draw.

“Fans pay money to watch this grinding, coaches must account but these boys must be told. They must have a hard look at themselves in the mirror because there is a lot that you must do.

“I don’t want to compare the derby to the one during our times or even before our times, I am talking about what I saw on Saturday and it was very disappointing. There was no direction at all, they were just playing and no team deserved to win that match.

“A true reflection of that game was a draw and people go home. When I looked at the stadium there were a lot of empty seats and that tells you something.

“Players must take responsibility. They can’t even put a combination of passes, hold the ball and share it, and if they can’t find an opening bring it back and start the build-up from scratch.

“I am talking to the players here and the coaches: what you showed us on Saturday was imihlola.”

Mahlangu played for Chiefs and Pirates in the 2000s, and also turned out for SV Mattersburg in Austria and SuperSport United.  

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