Johannesburg - As we go into the 19th season since the advent of the Premiership was ushered back in 1996, the most pleasing thing is the fact that local coaches dominate.
Of the 16 teams that will attempt to be crowned Absa Premiership champions, only three have non-South Africans at the helm.
It is probably safe to predict that a local coach will win the championship this season, with the three foreign coaches in charge of clubs that cannot be classified as title contenders.
With due respect to Muhsin Ertugral, Kosta Papic and Kinnah Phiri, it will take some miracle for Black Aces, Polokwane City and Free State Stars to finish top of the table come the end of May.
The big question then is whether we are going to have a maiden championship-winning coach or will the usual suspects triumph once more.
Fascinatingly, the previous 18 seasons have produced a mere 10 winning coaches, two of which were jointly in charge. Of those 10, just four were local - one of them having won the title in conjunction with a foreigner.
Pleasingly, however, is the fact that those four coaches accounted for half of the 18 titles, Gordon Igesund having won a joint-record four, Gavin Hunt three, Pitso Mosimane a single and Neil Tovey one, albeit jointly.
The first three coaches are once again in the mix for this season and are perhaps the best bet to stop Steve Komphela adding his name to the list of local Premiership winners by helping Kaizer Chiefs retain their title.
It makes for an exciting season, one that should begin with some fireworks today with both Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits involved.
Mosimane’s Brazilians were pretty heartsore after having their title taken away from them last season by a marauding Kaizer Chiefs under the guidance of Stuart Baxter who added a second title to his CV.
And the man they call “Jingles” made it clear even last season that he will be stopping at nothing to get the championship back to Chloorkop. Incredibly, though, he did not raid the market as usual to help him in his endeavour to win a second league title. A sign perhaps that he is content with the team he has?
Their impressive pre-season form seemed to suggest this was the case until Wednesday night when the Brazilians once again failed in the MTN8 following defeat to a Bloemfontein Celtic side that literally killed off their title hopes last season.
But anyone who reads too much into the penalty shoot-out loss in the cup competition would be making a big mistake, for Sundowns are a team built for the marathon that is the league race.
Mosimane opens the season with a tricky trip to a Platinum Stars side that have traditionally got the better of him and a slip up there might have “Jingles” a little ruffled. Still, he is way too experienced to allow it to affect him much.
Yet if the former Bafana Bafana coach has the know-how to lead a team to league glory, he is still a baby compared to both Igesund and Hunt.
Both these multiple championship winners are under immense pressure to deliver this season as their clubs - SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits - have spared no cost to ensure they have the playing personnel to deliver the big gong.
Hunt scored a psychological victory over his adversary with the MTN8 victory midweek and a win tonight over an Ajax Cape Town outfit he is facing in the cup semi-final to begin the season on a winning note will send confidence soaring at the former university outfit.
One thing you can count on is for both Hunt and Igesund to have a meticulous plan on how to tackle the season. Hunt is renowned for his ability to get the points where you will expect him to - against the smaller clubs - and then stealing a few from fellow contenders.
Igesund, on the other hand, probably has already drawn up a plan of how many points he needs to get to win the championship - which matches he can afford to lose and still not be hurt badly.
What then of new kids on the championship contenders’ block - Komphela at Chiefs and Eric Tinkler at Pirates? Perhaps what these two have going for them is that they are in charge of the country’s two biggest sides and will have a huge crowd support to help them on. They are yet to show themselves as championship-winning material and this season they get the chance.
We are in for a fascinating championship battle. Let the race begin.
Saturday Star