‘There is more coming'

The arrival of German coach Josef Zinnbauer at Orlando Pirates has coincided with Gabadinho Mhango suddenly raising his performance. His seven goals in Zinnbauer’s first four matches have elevated him to double figures already with a loud shout in the top scorers’ award chase. As Malawi’s top export, Mhango knows he is representing many back home, and thus carries the desire to aim high. He spoke to KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo, revealing he believes there is more coming from him.

7 mins read

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‘I should have won 12 times'

Samuel Eto’o announced his retirement from professional football in 2019 and leaves behind a legacy that many consider sees him as the greatest African footballer of all time with 18 major titles won for club and country. KICK OFF’s Lorenz Kohler sat down with the four-time CAF African Player of the Year at the Duqesa de Cardona hotel in Barcelona before El Clasico to find out his role in the Castle Lager Africa Fives project and look back on an iconic career that started back in 1997.

8 mins read

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The incredible coaching journey of Pitso Mosimane

If Mamelodi Sundowns go on and retain their Absa Premiership title at the end of the season, Pitso Mosimane will have won a fifth championship and become the most successful coach in the history of the sport in South Africa. Soweto-born Mosimane has an all-consuming passion for the game, starting in his playing career and now well into his mid-50s. His hunger for victory remains all too evident, even if the novelty of winning is now long past. With Sundowns he has won four of the last six league championships, and in so doing, matched the feats of four titles won by the likes of Jeff Butler, Ted Dumitru, Gordon Igesund and Gavin Hunt. But he has already gone one better than them by also winning the African Champions League – the Holy Grail on the continent. But how did Mosimane start out coaching, what fueled his passion and what was his journey to the top. It is a fascinating insight, told exclusively to KICK OFF’s Mark Gleeson.

10+ mins read

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The Best Of South Africa's Clasico

Kaizer Chiefs versus Orlando Pirates is one of football’s great derby matches with a rich history, both good and bad, that has helped to create a sports event that is the biggest in South Africa. It is perhaps the only fixture that can bring the country to a stand-still and down the years there has been some epic fixtures. KICK OFF’s Mark Gleeson picks out 10 of the best.

10+ mins read

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Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

Three months after taking over Orlando Pirates, Rhulani Mokwena hasn’t elevated the club to where the fans expected. This has naturally raised questions about whether it was premature to hand him the job. KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo investigates Mokwena’s appointment, tenure and what could possibly be the way forward.

9 mins read

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‘We Know How To Win The League'

Mamelodi Sundowns winger Lyle Lakay feels that there is no need to panic over the pace that Kaizer Chiefs have set in the Absa Premiership championship race, insisting that the Brazilians have the edge in terms of experience. KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo spoke to the 28-year-old, who spent most of his five years at Bloemfontein Celtic trying to get out of the club.

8 mins read

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Chiefs' Missing Link

Kaizer Chiefs’ excellent start to the 2019/20 Premier Soccer League season has been a great team effort, but there is one man who stands out head and shoulders above the rest as the catalyst for their upturn in fortunes. Serbian striker Samir Nurkovic was a little-known journeyman forward before he arrived at Naturena at the beginning of the campaign, but has almost single-handedly improved the side’s attacking fortunes. KICK OFF’s Nick Said investigates what makes Nurkovic such a quality addition and why he can fire Chiefs to the league title.

8 mins read

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Umahamba Yedwa – The Lone Ranger

It’s tough living in a world where you watch European football from the sidelines, without colours to nail to the mast. Globalisation of the English game, as well as the Spanish and Italian leagues has compelled us to form allegiance with one or more European countries. But, KICK OFF’s Stephen Kihn, who is without friend or foe in any international league, has found the loneliness of a vegetarian at a braai, as he navigates his way through the football world without a club to support.

3 mins read

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Premature Return?

From the moment a young, scrawny but immensely talented Ayanda Patosi walked through the doors of the now defunct Africa Soccer Development (ASD) Academy in Cape Town, he looked destined for Europe. Following six relatively successful years in Belgium, the 24-year-old somewhat surprisingly signed for ambitious Premier Soccer League club Cape Town City in June. Was his return an easy, desperate or premature move? Or did it purely make sense for all parties? Here, his former academy principal, and Patosi himself, give their views.

6 mins read

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Micho Needs Mucho Macho 

If former Bucs coach Kjell Jonevret is to be believed, being the head coach of Orlando Pirates is a bit like being the White House chief of staff. In both jobs, you are granted just enough power to understand, slowly and painfully, just how powerless you actually are. This is not to equate Irvin Khoza with Donald Trump. The two men are worlds apart – not least because Khoza must have at least 50 IQ points on that mighty moron with his thumb on the nuke button.

3 mins read

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