Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates legend Marks Maponyane has opened up about his most memorable time in the Soweto Derby as a player, citing the 1994 season as the best.
Go-man-go as Maponyane is affectionately known wore black and gold for a decade between 1981 and 1991, making 192 appearances and scoring 85 goals. He then joined Pirates from 1992 to 1996, featuring 136 times and scoring 40 goals.
He reminisced about the derbies in 94 with iDiski Times senior writer Matshelane Mamabolo in edition 202 of the newspaper, admitting the pressure he felt having represented both sides. Maponyane went on to say the derby where Pirates changed their colours stands out the most, as they also went on to win the league.
“It was not easy to play on the other side because I had the pressure to replicate what I did when I was on the other side,” Maponyane told iDiski Times.
“But I was mature enough to keep calm and remember I was not playing history but the game. And like when I was at Chiefs, I really enjoyed playing the derby for Pirates. Most memorable was 1994 when we did not lose a single match against Chiefs and we won the league.
“There was that Charity Spectacular match when we changed the club colours for the first time. Chiefs were shocked when we rocked up wearing green, yellow and black because they were expecting us to be in black and white.
“We had an amazing team with the likes of ‘Jump Street’ Oupa Mabuza, Edward Motale, [William] Okpara in goals, Shoes Lushozi, Marc Batchelor, Jerry Sikhosana, and myself were the target men and on the wings were Helman Mkhalele and Brendon Silent – the fastest players in the league at the time.
“We beat them in that pre-season match and won both the league matches against them, so for me, that entire 94 season provided me with my most memorable derbies as a Pirates player.”
You can read Mamabolo’s feature on iconic Soweto derbies in edition 202 when you subscribe to iDiski Times Media WhatsApp number for FREE.
