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| Itumeleng Khune © Backpagepix |
Its WAFA WAFA time again! PSL.co.za takes a look at the important stats ahead of this weekend’s eagerly anticipated four quarter-final games.
The MTN8 is the South Africa's oldest cup competition. It is made up of the top eight teams that finished in that order at the end of the previous Absa Premiership season.
The first round is structured in the following terms: the club finishing top of the previous season's league table takes on the side that finished eighth; second place plays seventh; third plays sixth and fourth plays fifth, with the semi-finals being contested over two legs.
Best illustrated by its famous payoff line: ‘WAFA WAFA - Winner takes all’, the MTN8 is the richest Cup competition on the continent: the winner receives a cool R8 million.
The 2012 edition of the MTN8 will be the fifth time the competition is sponsored by cellular giants MTN.
Under previous formats, the tournament dates back to 1972, with 37 competitions to date.
With 14 titles, Kaizer Chiefs are far and away the most successful team in the tournaments’ history, while their Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates are next on the list with nine victories, including the 2010 and 2011 editions of the competition – the Buccaneers will be aiming for a hat-trick of wins in 2012.
Incidentally, Bucs also won the very first two top eight competitions, with their quest for a third straight victory being halted as Kaizer Chiefs lifted the trophy in 1974.
Last season’s competition saw 22 goals scored in the nine matches, with Pirates and Ajax the highest team goal-scorers with six goals. The individual to net the most goals was Terror Fanteni, with three goals, though neither he nor his Ajax side will be competing this year after finishing ninth in the league.
Pirates meanwhile showed that they can never be written off, twice scoring extra time goals to ensure victory.
The first one came in their first match, with Siyabonga Sangweni’s 105th minute winner knocking out Santos, while Oupa Manyisa broke Chiefs’ hearts with a 107th minute stunner of a strike in the final.
In terms of league goals scored last season, of the top eight finishers it was second-placed Moroka Swallows who netted the most goals – 48, while AmaZulu (who finished seventh), with 32, scored the least.
SuperSport United, Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs shared the record of the least goals conceded: 23, while the Birds let in the most goals: 34.
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