CAPE TOWN - When new NFD side Stellenbosch FC host the mighty Kaizer Chiefs in a Nedbank Cup last 32 tie at Athlone Stadium on Saturday night (8.15pm kickoff), they have an opportunity to trumpet their arrival on the local football landscape.
Two seasons ago, businessman Mario Ferreira took over Parow-based Vasco da Gama. With his involvement in Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes, the new owner’s driving ambition, needless to say, is to get to the PSL.
It is with this as motivation that Ferreira decided to break the NFD franchise away from the amateur side of Vasco and start from scratch by relocating the club to the Cape Winelands.
As club chief operations officer Edries Burton said at the time: “The name Stellenbosch FC shows our intention of creating a club that symbolises the Cape Winelands community. We are on a pathway of building something special and we want to take this community with us.”
With regard to the NFD, Stellenbosch aren’t doing all that badly. They are the highest-placed Cape team in the division - fourth, with 31 points - and they are most certainly in the running for a promotion playoff spot.
While getting to the PSL is Stellenbosch’s top priority, they also know the importance of a good performance against Chiefs with regards to elevating the club into the consciousness of football followers across the length and breadth of the country.
For a new team to demand attention, it has to deliver performances that move people - ask Cape Town City - and this is uppermost in Stellenbosch coach Sammy Troughton’s thoughts as he prepares his team to face Chiefs.
“This is a good opportunity, a great occasion, to announce ourselves as a club,” said Troughton. “We want to do justice to the occasion, so I won’t be throwing in a bunch of youngsters, I will be playing my strongest team.
We’ve played many friendlies against PSL opposition during the season and I’ve always found that, when I play my strongest side, we are able to match the opponents. Obviously, friendlies aren’t a true indication, but it gives me confidence that we can give it a go against Chiefs.”
Originally from Northern Ireland, Troughton arrived in South Africa in 1985 to play for Jomo Cosmos. He went on to star for top teams like Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates before turning his hand to coaching.
During his playing days, Troughton was nicknamed “Special Branch”, after the feared apartheid police unit, particularly for his brand of fearless, tough-tackling football from central midfield. And he’s brought that same honest graft and selfless commitment to his coaching spells at Orlando Pirates, Mpumalanga Black Aces, the University of Pretoria and, now, Stellenbosch. He definitely knows his way around football in South Africa - and he’s had a few scraps playing and coaching against Chiefs in the past.
“I don’t know how Steve (Komphela, Chiefs coach) will approach the fixture,” said the Stellenbosch coach. “He may make a few changes, so I’m not sure what to expect in that regard. But it doesn’t really matter, I suppose... I’m certain that, whoever plays, they will play the same way. Their football won’t change - that is just the Chiefs way of doing things.
“We will have to be energetic and we will have to make sure that we have a good evening. If not, they can cause quite a bit of damage. But the one thing I know is that I don’t want to sit back and defend - if we do, we can get hammered. We have to be brave, it’s a once-off and I want us to have a go at them.”
Troughton also stressed that he has impressed on his team that they have to treat the occasion professionally. Because of the high-profile nature of the fixture, he doesn’t want individuals to feel it’s time for them to improvise and stray from the team strategy just to catch the eye on the field.
“Look, the idea is not to change too much,” he said. “We will go with what we have been doing all season. I don’t want players to go out and be Elvis Presleys, they have to make sure that they stick to the game plan.
“It’ll be tough, Chiefs are a very good side, and the most popular team in the country. But, all in all, most importantly, it’s an occasion for this team, this club, this squad, to showcase themselves - and, at the same time, it’s an opportunity to gain experience against a very good team.”