Eleazar Rodgers has a knack for scoring against Mamelodi Sundowns, a club he briefly called home for a year before he was deemed surplus to their requirements.
The most famous goal the lanky striker scored against the Brazilians came in 2014 in the semi-final of the Telkom Knockout in Phokeng.
It ended up as the only goal from that match, sending Platinum Stars to the final and frustrating Sundowns fans who bayed for coach Pitso Mosimane’s blood afterwards. But the 31-year-old says it’s nothing personal, as he prepares for another showdown with Sundowns.
This time it will be in the MTN8 final, at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday at 5pm, in the colours of his new club Bidvest Wits.
“I wouldn’t say that things didn’t go as well as planned (at Sundowns),” Rodgers said.
“I think that everything happened the way it should, which is why I am here today. I don’t think that I have anything to prove against them. I was there. I left the club. Things still went well for me. I can’t fault them because they played a role in my life. I was still able to provide for my family. I dont hold any grudges against them.
“They are a big team. As a player you always relish the opportunity to play against a big team. That’s why I have always done well against them. You want to shine against big teams. I hope that come the final, I can continue doing well against them and we beat them.”
This will be the third final that Rodgers will be involved in.
The other two, with Sundowns and Dikwena in the Telkom Knockout of 2012 and 2014, ended in disappointment for the man who hails from Kuils River. He will be hoping that the third time’s a charm.
He will come up against his former teammate from Santos, Wayne Arendse, in the Sundowns back four. Arendse, like Rodgers, had a tough time at Sundowns as he struggled to make it into the starting XI. But Arendse persisted to the point that he was a regular when the club won the league last season, even forcing Mosimane to play former captain Ramahlwe Mphahlele at right-back.
“I am also happy for him, he is playing now,” Rodgers said. “It’s another opportunity for us to go into battle and see who wins at the end of the day.”
After the final, Arendse will go and represent the country with Sundowns in the final of the Caf Champions League against Zamalek. Rodgers, on the other hand, will travel with Bafana Bafana to Burkina Faso where they will start the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
The call-up was just reward for Rodgers, who has led Wits from the front to take the club to the final of the MTN8.
But reaching the final won’t be enough for Wits. It’s not only because the runners up get the same amount of money (R800 000) as the other participants, regardless of where they were knocked out while the winners pocket a cool R8-million, but the Clever Boys are at a stage where second best is not enough.
And then there's the issue of this tournament being a poisoned chalice. Three of the last four winners didn’t finish in the top eight after winning it, thus missing out on the chance to defend the title. The only exception was Kaizer Chiefs who went on to win the league in a dominant display. Wits will be looking for a similar story should they lift their first trophy in six years on Saturday.
The Star