Manchester, England – The Soweto derby has become more of a love affair than the fierce rivalry it is generally made out to be.
Supporters of Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs sit together in the stands, pose for pictures that you’ll often see on the front pages of newspapers come Monday morning and can be seen sharing a plate of food purchased outside the stadium.
Both clubs these days play cautiously – as Stuart Baxter and Roger de Sa have often described this season – and talk about a draw being a fair result. By no means does this define the so-called rivalry in Soweto.
There’s none of that here. The rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City is intense and borders on hatred. And a draw is certainly not good enough, for either club.
It’s a win at all costs match, and bragging rights are most important, especially in families where loyalty is divided.
There is a very huge gap of history and achievement between the two clubs.
Undoubtedly, it is the red half of Manchester which has enjoyed the highest degree of success over the years in terms of honours and silverware.
But City have recently shown that they, too, can conquer, winning the FA Cup and Premier League.
And, while City fans have regularly borne the brunt of accusations that their title was bought – particularly from United fans – they consider the accusation somewhat ridiculous.
Two gentlemen I met on Saturday in Manchester, Konan and Martin, work together at the Radisson Blue Hotel restaurant, but for the week or so leading up to the derby set for Old Trafford tonight, they’ve struggled to put their differences aside.
“We don’t exactly go around stabbing one another, but you will probably hear us telling City fans that we hate them, and they’ll tell us how much they hate us. United fans are mostly from the south side of Manchester and City fans are up north,” United supporter Martin says while looking over to Konan across the breakfast table to see what his City-supporting colleague has to say.
Konan joins in on the chat. “Yeah, that’s how it is. You’ll find that in some families, where some support City and others support United. The rivalry is massive. And you’ll never see fans from both teams sitting together at the stadium. It will all get back to normal the next day. We will shake hands and be jolly again,” the waiter explained.
“See you at the game. We have to win this one,” he said even though City are out of the race for the title.
Another waiter, Rob, who works for the Exchange Bar and Grill at Trafford centre, says the clubs’ fans don’t even sit together in a pub.
“You’ll get City fans sitting on this side,” he says, pointing to the left side of the restaurant.
“And then United fans will sit on the other side. We can never sit together,” the United fan said.
His Polish colleague, Andrew, is a City fan and cannot stand United. “I started supporting City seven years ago when I came to England, way before they became rich.
“I had promised myself I would because I was overwhelmed by them when I was still in Poland. The rivalry is tense.”
It’s been rather quiet on the streets of Manchester leading up to the game, but if what these gentlemen have shared is anything to go by, the atmosphere on Monday night is going to be epic. It should be a cracker!
*Tshepang is in Manchester courtesy of MTN as the 2012 MTN8 Last Journo Standing winner