With both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates not hitting the heights of expectation over the past five years, can the Soweto derby still be considered the country’s biggest game with the dominant Mamelodi Sundowns not involved, asks SoccerClub writer DEAN WORKMAN.

On Saturday, Amakhosi and the Buccanneers will meet at the FNB Stadium for a match which in football terms is starting to lose relevance with the Soweto giants currently not competing at the top end of the league.

It’s not a new aspect of the derby, with both clubs having struggled to meet expectations and not won a league title for several years.

Chiefs last bagged the league title in the 2014-15 campaign while Pirates were last crowned the best in the country all the way back in the 2011-12 season.

In this time Mamelodi Sundowns have exerted their dominance on South African football and are currently the best side in the country by a country mile as they aim to secure a fifth consecutive league title.

With all buildup and hype generated over the Soweto derby, can it still be considered the country’s biggest game? Sure, in terms of history and fanbases it is undoubtedly the biggest game but from a purely football point of view it is starting to lose relevance.

My thoughts were echoed by Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs great Marks ‘Go Man Go’ Maponyane, who this week revealed that he believes the derby is surviving for sentimental reasons.

“It [the Soweto derby between Chiefs and Pirates] exists because of sentimental reasons,” was Maponyane’s blunt assessment of the state of Southern Africa’s biggest fixture in comparison to Sundowns’ dominance on the domestic scene as reported by TimesLive.

“Whoever is going to win the derby doesn’t make them achievers, because history has it that Sundowns is now the most dominant side in the country, and they have just surpassed Chiefs in terms of most trophies won in the PSL era.

“The derby is just a match between two teams and they must start being consistent and win trophies. Pirates won the MTN8 last season but diehard supporters want the league because that is what matters.

“They must at least win the league soon because that’s what matters and Sundowns have done that for the past four seasons, and at the rate things are going it looks like they will win it for the fifth time this season.

“The reason Sundowns is this dominant is because whoever they buy fits into their plan and style of play. If you don’t have a plan, you bring in players with reputations to try to boost the image of the team, but players are not there to save the image of the team. They are there to show their talent in the plan that is there.”

Maponyane, who is part of a select group of players to have starred for both Chiefs and Pirates, said the two Soweto derby sides are way behind Sundowns when it comes to the standard of play on the field.

“They are far [behind] because the other team [Chiefs] was celebrating having just made the top eight while Sundowns had won the league. This means they are far, it was going to be something if one of them had finished second, but AmaZulu finished second.

“For them to reclaim their glory days, they must improve significantly while at the same time hoping that Sundowns drop their standards. That is unlikely to happen any time soon because Sundowns players are getting better.

“Sundowns will continue to dominate the league and their advantage this season is that the Champions League only resumes in January. They have an experienced technical team who know that they need to have solidified in the league before they resume in the Champions League.”

“The standard is not the same and both teams need to be firing to capture the imagination of the public or to spark into life. The reality is that neither Chiefs nor Pirates are having sparks at the moment.

“The only thing we cannot forget is that the derby has got reputation. The reputation is something that you cannot remove, it is your reputation, [whether] bad or good, people will still perceive you with that reputation.”

Maponyane’s assessment is a clear outline of the current state of the Soweto derby. The standard has dropped and thus the intensity and importance of the fixture have declined along with the Soweto giants.

For the millions of fans of both clubs the fixture will remain of vital importance, but in terms of being the biggest fixtures of the season … those days are gone for now at least.