Editor's Column - Clint Roper
With the biggest fixture on the South African football calendar just days away, I was trying to figure out what it is about this fixture that actually puts a smile on the faces of millions of South African fans in anticipation of our showpiece event. After all, it's our answer to El Clasico, the Merseyside Derby, the London Derby, the Eternal Derby in Serbia, the Milan Derby and the Old Firm Derby. Yes, it's our chance to shine in world football… our very own Soweto Derby is upon us! For as long as I can remember, in anticipation of seeing a cracking game, the Soweto Derby would have a smile on our faces weeks in advance. But, over the years, dour stalemate draws and some cowardly coaching have seen the excitement and shine of the derby wearing thin. It's a game that maintains its relevance and mystic largely because of its history and clever marketing, rather than actual substance. Let's take a look at this game in context. Rather than the excitement of South Africa's two best-supported clubs vying for a title or top spot on the league table, these two teams come into this fixture with dark clouds overhead. Steve Komphela and his charges have been on the wrong end of two cup final defeats this season and are eight points adrift of what looks like a rampaging campaign by Pitso Mosimane and his Mamelodi Sundowns. Chiefs have won just six league games all season – that's just two more than Polokwane City, who will likely be fighting relegation come the end of the season. So, while this is not a cup final, no silverware will be presented or by no means is a title decider, for Chiefs this is a must-win to stay in touching distance of Sundowns. This is a desperate situation rather than a game that, no matter the outcome, will be a celebration of football. In the other camp, things are looking even gloomier. Orlando Pirates have lost six league games this season, just two less than bottom-of-the-table Maritzburg United. They have scored just 16 league goals all season, again just two more than the Team of Choice. With 16 points, Pirates are also just three points away from being dragged into the relegation battle! Pirates' coach, who has legendary status in South Africa as a player, is all of a sudden receiving loads of criticism from a section of Pirates' supporters for his efforts as a coach. Some have even suggested that a loss in this derby could trigger the axe to fall. So, all in all, with the storm clouds gathering above and the atmosphere tense, this is a derby in which both players and coaches will know that any slip-up could have dire consequences. Both teams are coming off the back of disappointing losses, so one can only hope the players themselves will be brave enough to give the fans the derby they deserve. I'm not holding my breath, though… Considering the circumstances, there isn't a great deal to make us smile in the lead-up to this occasion. So here's something completely refreshing that might put a tear or two in your eye and will certainly make you and two very special South African kids smile, not just for a day, but for the rest of their lives. A couple of weeks back, Soccer Laduma was approached to get involved with Operation Smile South Africa (OSSA). Operation Smile is an organisation that brings together doctors from across the country, erects mobile surgery rooms and gathers all the materials and expertise needed to perform free corrective surgery for children and adults with cleft lip and cleft palate deformities. Since 2006, this incredible organisation has restored 6000 smiles across Africa! On Saturday, #Operation45 will be launched. What many people don't know is that one of these corrective surgeries takes just 45 minutes! So, to coincide with this Soweto derby, two corrective surgeries will be performed on Saturday. 10-month old Ofentse Sithole and eight-month-old Alexzander Coetzee will each receive a free surgery, one in each half of the game. By the time the final whistle blows on Saturday, regardless of the scoreline and the outcome, two infants will be smiling from ear to ear because of #Operation45. I can think of nothing more powerful than for us as a soccer nation to get behind this initiative, which is literally changing the face of South Africa one operation at a time. You can take part on the day or follow the procedure by getting on twitter and following @OperationSmile and using #Operation45 to join in the conversation around these life- changing procedures. If you need more information about this incredible organisation, please make sure you head to www.operation45.com or http://southafrica.operationsmile.org The Soweto Derby should be the smile of South African soccer. Whether it will be is yet to be determined, but on this special occasion it will be getting a helping hand from #Operation45! Shappa Clint
