AmaZulu co-coaches Arthur Zwane and Vusi Vilakazi have the opportunity to become the first men to lead the club to a victory over Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium on Friday night.

While AmaZulu has defeated Pirates away from home, which the game was played at FNB Stadium in the 2013/14 and not Orlando Stadium as it was not available, they have never triumphed at Orlando Stadium since its refurbishment in 2008. The venue’s opening match saw Pirates defeat KwaZulu-Natal side Thanda Royal Zulu 3-1, with Teko Modise scoring a brace.

Usuthu aims to join Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United (now Durban City) as the third KZN team to beat Pirates at Orlando Stadium. However, the task seems daunting given Pirates’ impressive form in the Betway Premiership this season. They have won all four matches and are joint-top with Mamelodi Sundowns on 12 points from four matches, the first time they have done so since the 2002/03 season. 

While Pirates has been very good this season having added a record third MTN8 title, it has been a bad start for Usuthu. They have lost all three league matches, lying at the bottom with zero points. 

That triggered Usuthu management to fire coach Pablo Franco Martin and was replaced by Zwane and Vilakazi as co-coaches.  

The duo started their tenure with a 2-1 loss to Stellenbosch at King Zwelithini Stadium on Friday in the Carling Knockout Round of 16, but they were encouraging signs of their performance as the game went to extra time and flooded the Stellies box entrances but could not terminate those chances.   

Zwane has urged his players to approach the Pirates match without fear, emphasizing that anyone can defeat anyone in the Premier League. He pointed to Stellenbosch’s strong performance in the MTN8 final as evidence that no game is easy. “We want our players to play without fear,” said Zwane. 

“You can’t be in the premier league and have fear, anyone can beat anyone. I mean, Stellenbosch, with the quality team that they have, they were playing in the final (the MTN8), they did very well in the final (but lost to Pirates). 

“We gave them a thing or two to learn and it wasn’t a walk in the park for them. When you look at where we come from and where are right now, anyone could have said Stellenbosch is through already. 

“As much as they are through, but they know they had to dig deep for them to go through to the next round. 

“So, there are no easy games in the PSL. We still have a lot to do in terms of trying to make sure that there is tactical flexibility in the squad, there is a tactical understanding, tactical endurance, and all those things, you did see. But we are not worried about the opposition at the moment, we are worried about our squad.”  

However, Zwane did the double over Pirates when he was the Kaizer Chiefs coach in the 2022/23 season before he was replaced at the start of last season.  

While Zwane has a history of success against Pirates, AmaZulu will need to overcome their recent struggles and capitalize on their opportunities to break the Orlando Stadium curse.