Arthur Zwane of Kaizer Chiefs during a Coca Cola Cup final match | Photo: Gallo Images/Duif Du Toit
Soweto Derby: The THREE controversial transfers between Kaizer Chiefs & Orlando Pirates
The South African takes a look at the four players who were involved in THREE controversial transfers between Chiefs and Pirates since 1995.
Arthur Zwane of Kaizer Chiefs during a Coca Cola Cup final match | Photo: Gallo Images/Duif Du Toit
Orlando Pirates visit Kaizer Chiefs in the 101st Soweto Derby meeting in the league on Saturday, 6 November 2021 at FNB Stadium.
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Kick-off is at 15:30.
The number of Soweto Derby matches are a clear indication of how long the rivalry between Chiefs and Pirates have been going on.
The rivalry goes back to 1970 when Chiefs were formed with players who were expelled by Pirates and those who felt the expulsion was over the top.
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There are good and bad memories from when these two giants of Soweto giants started facing each other in those dark days of apartheid.
During those early years of the Soweto Derby, it was rare for players to move from Pirates to Chiefs and vice-versa.
However, it is no longer something strange nowadays although those who still remember how it was back then don’t condone it because of the feeling of betrayal.
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Now, as part of the build up to Saturday’s encounter at the Calabash, The South African takes a look at four players who were involved in THREE controversial transfers between Chiefs and Pirates since 1995.
These are the transfers that had to go the legal route or/and using the law to resolve as both Chiefs and Pirates couldn’t agree when trying to come up with solutions.
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1. Dumisa Ngobe – 1995
Ngobe was on the books of Witbank Aces when Chiefs signed him in 1995, and he’d go on to feature for two games for the Naturena-based side.
The Bosman ruling then came into effect and Ngobe was ordered to go back to Aces whom the ruling said he was still contracted to.
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Ngobe did go back, only for Chiefs, Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns to table offers to Aces for his services.
Behind the scenes, Ngobe rejected both Chiefs and Sundowns, and penned a deal with Pirates – this infuriated Amakhosi who felt their rivals had illegally taken the then 21-year-old midfielder from them.
2. Arthur Zwane/Lesely Manyathela – 2000
The now Amakhosi assistant coach joined Pirates upon his return from Brazilian giants Santos – and that was before he was sent on loan to AmaZulu and later Ria Stars.
But how is his transfer linked to that of the late Manyathela?
Well, Manyathela started off at Chiefs – the Naturena-based outfit spotted the late striker first and they went to his then amateur club to compensate them.
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A deal was agreed, and Manyathela moved to Chiefs but before he could even kick a ball, Pirates claimed the lanky striker belonged to them.
And that’s because they had gone straight to Manyathela’s parents to pay double the amount Chiefs had paid to the striker’s team at the time – the legal battle then started.
But for the purposes of avoiding legal fees and wasting the court’s time after an application was filed, the two teams agreed to settle the matter outside of court.
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Pirates offered Zwane (on loan at Ria Stars) in exchange for Manyathela, and the proposed deal was agreed. Zwane moved to Chiefs while Manyathela moved the opposite direction.
3. Siphelele Mthembu – 2008
Mthembu was a highly-rated young striker at the time when both Chiefs and Pirates claimed him as theirs.
Shaka Zulu was found to have signed two contracts with both Chiefs and Pirates by the PSL Dispute Resolution Chambers (DRC).
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What happened was Mthembu hastely signed with Pirates only for Chiefs to come up with a better offer, and he wasn’t honest enough – and the case went on for months.
Pirates took the matter up after seeing Mthembu feature for Chiefs in the Vodacom Challenge against Manchester United and Telkom Charity Cup.
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Pirates eventually won the case, and Mthembu went on to play for them. He would finally get the chance to play for Chiefs in 2014.
