Orlando Pirates give off Cape Town weather vibes.
That city, surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian oceans, throws you all four seasons in one day, leaving you uncertain which way the weather pattern is going.
I guess you can put Pirates in the same category, a club that is a peculiar paradox in its own right.
At the moment the Buccaneers are in their best bipolar moment. Nothing is as confusing as a team that crushes all and sundry to collect three trophies but turns around to be ho-hum in chasing the league title.
The finish to last season was imperious, a run that secured a second-spot finish in the log standings. Bucs boss Jose Riveiro declared himself satisfied with the showing in his maiden season. He told me the club would be going all out for the DStv Premiership and looking to make an impression in the Caf Champions League.
No cent was spared to prepare for the two-front onslaught. New acquisitions like Patrick Maswanganyi, Melusi Buthelezi, Katlego Otladisa and Siphelo Baloni were added to the arsenal already laden with recent recruits Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo, Miguel Timm, Thapelo Xoki, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Evidence Makgopa.
Karim Kimvuidi came aboard a ship that had Innocent Maela, Paseka Mayo, Kermit Erasmus, Bandile Shandu, Deon Hotto and Thabiso Monyane, who all form components of a competitive squad with requisite quality to stage a formidable campaign.
Much was made of the tour to Riveiro’s native Spain, where the Sea Robbers pitched their tent at Marbella Football Centre, an exclusive sports complex rated as a destination of choice for pre-season training camps by the world’s top clubs.
The league will prove a bridge too far for an outfit that has amassed 16 points from 11 outings.
As described by Fifa-licensed match agent Andres Roldan, MFC “was created to meet the highest demands of professional football teams and ranks as one of the most exclusive sports complexes in Europe. We offer excellent location, excellent training facilities and exclusive, personalised customer service. MFC is the preferred location for pre-season and training camps for the world’s top clubs”.
Bucs have thus far not lived up to Riveiro’s declaration of a solid start to the season. They’ve played in patches, the gloss of MTN8 glory papering over the cracks of underwhelming league performances. Therein lies the Pirates paradox.
They have the players. They have the support staff. They know their way to winning trophies — back-to-back MTN8 gongs and a Nedbank Cup to boot — in two seasons. But when it comes to the bread and butter, they are starving, starting this season as poorly as they did the last.
After their latest draw against Richards Bay on Saturday, the fourth of the season, Riveiro said: “We dropped two points, we move to the next one. We have 15 points to fight for until the Christmas break,” adding “that could be a good moment for us to analyse where we are and why”.
The analysis will reveal that before Saturday, Pirates won a paltry eight points from a possible 18: 1-0 victories over Kaizer Chiefs and Sekhukhune United, stalemates with AmaZulu and Polokwane City as well as losses to Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town Spurs, with the bottom table team scoring their sole success to date on that day.
Bucs hit a blackout on the Champions League front too, losing to lesser lights Jwaneng Galaxy, the Botswana side who proved their win was no fluke when they came out victorious away to Wydad Casablanca at the weekend.
Out of the Carling Knockout, things look bleak for Bucs unless they manage to defend the Nedbank Cup. The league will prove a bridge too far for an outfit that has amassed 16 points from 11 outings.
Defending champions Sundowns — who have won all their matches — sit in second position on 24 points, one shy of Cape Town City. Crucially, Downs have played five games less than City and will add 15 more should they continue their winning streak.
Pirates will be left further behind. They wasted their opportunity to close the gap while Sundowns were caught up in Champions League and African Football League continental commitments.
They were, somewhat, able to pull the rabbit out of a hat with a strong finish last term. But as cliched as it sounds, goals win matches and Pirates have been wanting. Even Lucky Lepasa’s purple patch has run out.
When he conducts that examination, Riveiro may want to interrogate whether it might have been an idea to keep strikers’ coach Scott Chickelday around for more than the five-matches he was at the club.
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