Question: What do Orlando Pirates and Arsenal have in common?
The ability to put up a brave fight in the race to claim the league crown only to flatter to deceive. Someone — a Chelsea fan for whom seeing the Gunners going through misery is the sweetest taboo — sent me a picture of a red double decker bus bedecked with an Arsenal logo.
Emblazoned on the bus were the words — “We Tried FC” — written in bold white letters, with figures pretending to be Arsenal players enjoying what appears to be a ticker-tape parade. Except there is no trophy for the crowd lining the street to cheer.
No Kaizer Chiefs or Mamelodi Sundowns supporters have sent me similar pictures. I can’t shake off a strong suspicion that a certain hard-core die-hard Chiefs fanatic known as “Dabane The Darling” on the X-rated Twitter streets, is busy mimicking his own version of the image to have a go at Pirates. The man who answers to the @sgadi28 handle delights in seeing The Ghost mired in misery.
Taking digs at Pirates
A member of the premium pain brigade, also known as the Chiefs and Arsenal supporters’ club, nothing delights Dabane more than to ameliorate his heartbreak induced by a consistently underperforming Amakhosi, and the pain visited on his person by Arsenal’s perennial runners-up performance, by taking digs at Pirates.
Propelled by the strikes of Mohau Nkota, Pirates sailed through their group unbeaten, finishing top from four wins and two draws, before becoming architects of their own demise by succumbing to a come-from-behind defeat in Cairo
He was in his element when the Buccaneers came unstuck against the Pyramids in the second leg Caf Champions League semifinals last week, going guns blazing with all manner of laugh-a-minute skits.
Both the Gunners of London and the Sea Robbers of Soweto are not beating the bridesmaids tag, seeing that this season they’ve scored a hat-trick of finishing behind the champions, Liverpool in the case of the English Premier League and here the soon-to-be-confirmed Betway Premiership kings Sundowns.
Contrasting fortunes
Three times a bridesmaid is the torrid tale of these clubs on the northern and southern hemisphere, who had contrasting fortunes in the last four stages of their interclub continental competitions.
Propelled by the strikes of Mohau Nkota, Pirates sailed through their group unbeaten, finishing top from four wins and two draws, before becoming architects of their own demise by succumbing to a come-from-behind defeat in Cairo.
After Pirates twice gave up the lead ,and ended up eliminated 3-2 by the scheme of the Egpyptian Pyramids, Arsenal are still alive in their chase of the Uefa Champions League —but only just. Mikel Arterta’s men are not dead and buried but their chances of reaching the final are hanging by a thread as they trail Paris St Germain, who will take a slender 1-0 lead to the second leg at the Parc des Princes Arena on Wednesday night.
Ghanaian Thomas Partey will be back, and the return of the midfielder will bring solidity to the midfield to allow Declan Rice to advance further forward and operate alongside skipper Martin Odegaard, who was subdued at the Emirates.
Irrepressible Henry
Their first and only appearance in Europe’s primary inter-club competition came in the 2005-06 season. The then Arsene Wenger-led side, powered by the goals of the irrepressible Thierry Henry, won their group and proceeded to claim the scalps of Real Madrid, Juventus and Villareal, en route to falling at the final hurdle against Barcelona, when Samuel Eto’o equalised to nullify Sol Campbell’s opener, and Juliano Belletti scored the winner.
The Gunners have clocked an impressive run this time around, too. They displayed a ravenous appetite for goals, putting five past Portugals Sporting and drilling seven of the best to send PSV Eindhoven packing.
And their best performance saw Rice rise to fire not one but two top drawer direct free kicks against Carlo Ancelotti’s reigning champions Real. Prior to that landmark, the Englishman had never in his 338 matches of his career scored from a set piece.
Having qualified for the tournament since 2010-11, PSG only once reached the final when they lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich.
This big ears trophy is the one piece of the puzzle craved most in London and Paris.
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