Did you know that Kaizer Chiefs founder and chairman Kaizer Motaung is one of players, who played for both Soweto giants? Ahead of Saturday’s Soweto Derby we look at other double agents.
Saturday’s Soweto Derby between Pirates and Chiefs will be the 176th clash between the two rivals since the very first derby in 1970.
Back then on 24 January 1970, none other than Kaizer Motaung ran out against his former side Orlando Pirates in the Rogue Beer Cup. Despite Kaizer showing his brilliance on the day, it was the Buccaneers who ended up victorious by the score-line of 6-4.
Overall, the Chiefs chairman scored eight goals against his Soweto rivals and he wasn’t the only player who switched allegiances between both sides.
Ahead of this weekend’s clash at the FNB Stadium, iDiski Times has gone down memory line, looking at a few players who have not just played for both teams but also directly swapped clubs in the PSL era.
Choose any unlimited 4G or 5G plan. Only start paying next month.
Sizwe Motaung
The late Sizwe Motaung, one of the Bafana stars in the 1996 Africa Cup winning side, was the first player in the PSL era to directly swap clubs. A marauding right-back and possibly the best to ever come from the country, joined Pirates from Chiefs ahead of the 2000/01 season. At that time, Motaung joined Pirates alongside Ernest Mtawali, Juniad Hartley, Pollen Ndlanya, the late Manyathela, Godfrey Sapula and Mozambican defender Baúte. Motaung had been at Chiefs since 1997 after joining them from Spanish side Tenerife.
Jimmy Tau
The Kimberly-born player was signed by Pirates from Maritzburg United ahead of the 2002/03 season. However, he wasn’t happy with the package at the club and then Chiefs came calling, confirming his signing on 18 August 2005 that he had jumped ship on a three-year deal.
Gert Schalkwyk
The Rustenburg-born forward was the next to swap the Soweto giants jerseys, joining Pirates in the 2009/10 season. He had been at Chiefs from 2004/05 season, where they secured his signature from Bidvest Wits. He won the league title with Chiefs in his first season under the late Ted Dumitru. With Ernst Middendorp taking over, Schalkwayk shone when Chiefs won the SAA Supa 8 in 2006/07 season in Durban alongside the late Scara Ngobese.
Lehlohonolo Majoro
Majoro acrimoniously left Chiefs in the second half of the 2013/14 season to join Pirates. He had been at Chiefs since the 2011/12 season, when he joined Amakhosi from AmaZulu.
Brilliant Khuzwayo
The Durban-born goalkeeper was another who made history, joining Pirates from Chiefs ahead of the 2018/19 season. This after he grew frustrated with lack of playing time at Chiefs, playing second fiddle to Itumeleng Khune. However, Khuzwayo, who won four trophies with Chiefs – including the MTN8 in 2014/15 against Pirates, where he was named Man of the Match, sadly didn’t play an official match for Pirates. His career was cut short after he suffered a bad injury during the off season and then in 2019 it was declared that he can’t play football anymore.
Some of the other players who have played for both clubs during the PSL era, but did not swap between them directly:
Marc Bachelor, Marks Maponyane, Pollen Ndlanya, Phumlani Mkhize, Siyabonga Nomvethe, Stanton Fredericks, Jabu Mahlangu, Siphelele Mthembu, Donald Khuse and Arthur Zwane.
History makers:
The late Bachelor and Maponyane are among six players who have scored for both clubs in a derby match, with the others being Gabriel Khoza‚ Blessing Mgidi‚ Jerry Sadike and Khuse.
