Photo Courtesy Kaizer Chiefs Media.
Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Howard Freese has called on Amakhosi players to play for the badge when they take on rivals Orlando Pirates in a Betway Premiership Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
“Go out there and represent the badge in the best way possible, Chiefs can give a good performance. The Derby can take a toll, not just on players but those watching as well,”
Freese said as quoted by Chiefs official website.
“My wife only ever attended one Derby when I played, which was in 1987. Even though we won, she said the pressure was too much. Enjoy the occasion and do your best.”
Discussing the 181st meeting between the Soweto rivals, he explained, “The rivalry against Pirates was a hard rivalry; no-one wanted to lose. Both teams were from Soweto, it was tense neither wanted to lose. If you play Pirates, you got butterflies two weeks before… Are you going to play in that game? No-one wants to miss the derby.
“In a stadium with over 80 000 people, everyone’s eyes are on you. The derby can build or break you. If you did well, the stats will always be there; if you messed up, it would knock your confidence.”
He concluded: “Like I mentioned, we never wanted to lose to them. I think we were able to do so well against because from around 1984 we built a super team. When we played against Pirates there were a number of other reasons that helped us out, such as skill factor, speed of our game, desire and drive to do well in these matches”.
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