Soweto Derby enters 17th straight season with a coaching change

Abdeslam Ouaddou will lead Orlando Pirates against Fernando da Cruz’s Kaizer Chiefs in front of another sold-out FNB Stadium on Saturday, extending the Soweto Derby’s remarkable run of managerial changes.

This will be the 17th consecutive season in which at least one of the two clubs has appointed a different coach before the fixture. The two biggest crowd-pullers in South African football have not contested the derby with the same managers for two successive seasons since 2009/10 and 2010/11.

Those campaigns remain the only period in PSL history when the same two coaches faced each other in four league meetings across consecutive seasons. Vladimir Vermezovic was in charge of Kaizer Chiefs, while Rudi Krol led Orlando Pirates.

Since the PSL began in August 1996, every other repeat meeting across two seasons has featured a change in the technical area at one of the clubs.

Last season, Ouaddou faced Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef. The campaign before that, in 2024/25, saw Nasreddine Nabi come up against Jose Riveiro.

In 2023/24, Cavin Johnson and Riveiro faced each other, while Riveiro had previously taken on Arthur Zwane.

The 2021/22 season brought another unusual combination, with Stuart Baxter coaching Chiefs and Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids operating as caretaker co-coaches at Pirates. The previous campaign featured Gavin Hunt against Josef Zinnbauer.

During 2019/20, Ernst Middendorp was in charge at Chiefs. Rulani Mokwena led Pirates in the first league meeting before being replaced by Zinnbauer.

A season earlier, Milutin Sredojevic coached Pirates, while Giovanni Solinas began the campaign at Chiefs before handing over to Middendorp.

In 2017/18, Steve Komphela was in his third season at Chiefs. Pirates had Sredojevic, who had taken over from Kjell Jonevret, following Eric Tinkler’s departure.

The three seasons before Komphela’s appointment at Kaizer Chiefs had brought a succession of match-ups: Baxter against Roger De Sa, then Vladimir Vermezovic, and later Eric Tinkler.

In 2011/12, Julio Leal and Augusto Palacios shared responsibility at Pirates, while Vermezovic was in his third season at Chiefs.

The managerial turnover was already evident before Krol and Vermezovic became the first pair to meet in both derby league matches over two consecutive seasons.

Kaizer Chiefs used Walter da Silva in their first league meeting of 1996/97 before moving through Paul Dolezar, Muhsin Ertugral, Doctor Khumalo and Ace Khuse, Ted Dumitru, Ernst Middendorp and Ertugral again. Vermezovic was appointed in 2009.

Orlando Pirates’ coaches during the period included Ronald Mkandawire, Shaibu Amodu, Viktor Bondarenko, Dumitru, Gordon Igesund, Jean-Yves Kerjean, Roy Barreto, Palacios, Kosta Papic, Sredojevic, Bibey Mutombo and Owen Da Gama, before Krol arrived in 2008.