Posted in News on Nov 27, 2007.
Chiefs have been in 12 domestic cup finals since the league began in 1996 – 1997 under the guises of various sponsors. They will make their 13th appearance in a cup final when they walk out on Saturday evening at the Vodacom Loftus Stadium in Tshwane to face Mamelodi Sundowns in the Telkom Knockout Cup Final.
Making it to the Telkom Knockout Cup Final also means that Chiefs have made another unique achievement in that they are the only team to have appeared in every cup final, under a different sponsors name sine 1996.
The journey to the Telkom Knockout Cup Final will be their seventh in this particular tournament, which includes just the sixteen PSL teams. In the past, Chiefs have won five of the six finals they have contested in and the one defeat they had in the final match of this competition came at the hands of Jomo Cosmos, in the 2002 final as they lost by a solitary goal to Jomo Sono’s team, the same team that The Amakhosi managed to thrash five nil in the 2001 Final when the tournament when it was still known as the Coca Cola Cup.
Tempting fate
Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral will be holding his team's training sessions behind close doors for most of the week. He did allow journalist in to the Kaizer Chiefs Village on Tuesday morning for his early morning training session after which the Chiefs coach conducted interviews standing next to a model who was decked in full Chiefs gear and was carrying the Telkom Cup Trophy with her.
The Chiefs coach did sneak a glance in the direction of the trophy, and will be hoping that it is his team who will be holding aloft the trophy on Saturday evening in Tshwane.
While Ertugral might have stared at the trophy dreaming of holding it to the sky a number of his players opted not to tempt fate and stayed well clear of the trophy in the hope that the next time they come face to face with it is on Saturday evening when they walk up the podium to collect their 2007 Telkom Knockout Cup Winners medals.
Seeking Number 10
A win over Sundowns on Saturday evening will be Chiefs' 10th triumph in a domestic cup final since 1996. It was in this same competition in the 1997 – 1998 season that saw Chiefs win their first domestic cup trophy in the second season of the PSL as they saw off the challenge of Mamelodi Sundowns over two legs in the 1997 – 1998 Rothmans Cup. A season later in 1998 – 1999 Chiefs retained their Rothmans Cup Final again defeating Sundowns in the final.
The next season and Chiefs completed a hat trick of Cup Final wins over Sundowns when Siyabonga Nomvete converted a 45th minute penalty to hand Chiefs a 1-0 win over Sundowns.
In the 1999 – 2000 BOB Save Super Bowl on the 11th June 2000, it also happened to be the first Cup Final The Amakhosi played in with Ertugral as their coach.
In all Chiefs have had a good run in cup competitions over eleven years and in the twelve appearances that they have made in cup Finals, only three of them have ended in defeat for the Amakhosi. Two of them were at the hands of SuperSport United in the 1998 – 1999 BOB Save Final, as well as the 2004 – 2005 SAA Supa8 Final. Chiefs did manage to exact revenge over SuperSport for those two Cup Final defeats with wins over SuperSport in the 2004 – 2005 COCA Cola Cup Final and the 2006 – 2007 SAA Supa8 Final. The only other team to defeat Chiefs in a Cup Final since 1996 – 1997 was Jomo Cosmos who beat The Amakhosi 1-0 jn the 2002 Coca Cola Cup Final.
History though one would feel is very much on the side of Chiefs going into the Telkom Knock Out Cup Final.
Kaizer Chiefs Record in Domestic Cup Finals since 1996 - 1997
1997 – 1998
Rothmans Cup Final
29th November 1997 1ST Leg
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Lebese 80’) Sundowns 1
3rd December 1997 2nd Leg
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Muchichwa 22’) Sundowns 1
Chiefs win aet on penalties
1998 – 1999
Rothmans Cup Final
28th November 1998
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Mooki 1’, Nomvete 113’) Sundowns 2
Chiefs win 2-1 aet on penalties
Bob Save Super Bowl Final
29th May 1999
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Ndlanya pen 90’) SuperSport United 2
1999 – 2000
BOB Save Super Bowl Final
11th June 2000
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nomvete pen 45’) Sundowns 0
2001 – 2002
BP Top Eight Final
1st September 2001
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Zwane 27’, Nzama 80’) Sundowns 2
Chiefs win aet on penalties 7-6
Coca Cola Cup Final
24th November 2001
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Kaizer Chiefs 5 (Zwane 36’, Niemach 69’, Pule 78’ & 86’, Fredericks 90’) Jomo Cosmos 0
2002 – 2003
Coca Cola Cup Final
30th November 2002
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Jomo Cosmos 1 Kaizer Chiefs 0
2003 – 2004
SAA Supa8 Final
2nd October 2004
ABSA Stadium Durban
SuperSport United 1 Kaizer Chiefs 0
Coca Cola Cup Final
6th December 2003
FNB Stadium Johannesburg
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Frederick 56, Mayo 90’ pen) Silver Stars 0
2004 – 2005
Coca Cola Cup Final
18 December 2004
Free State Stadium Bloemfontein
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mbesuma 80’) SuperSport United 0
2005 – 2006
ABSA Cup Final
20th May 2006
ABSA Stadium Durban
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Orlando Pirates 0
Chiefs win aet 5-3 on penalties
2006 – 2007
SAA Supa8 Final
21st October 2006
ABSA Stadium Durban
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Kilambe 62) SuperSport United 0
Chiefs in domestic cup finals since 1996 – 1997
| P | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PS | SW | SL | |
| Chiefs | 12 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
