PIC: Miguel Timm (right)

The Nedbank Cup provides the country’s minnow sides with the chance to make a name for themselves and shoot to fame, but is equally important for the so-called ‘big guns’ as they seek to extend their long legacy of success.
This is certainly true for Orlando Pirates, who have a rich and storied history in the Nedbank Cup competition, but last lifted the coveted trophy in 2014 when they defeated BidVest Wits in the decider.

Since then there has been the pain of back-to-back final losses to SuperSport United in 2016 and 2017, and a failure to get beyond the quarterfinals in any of the five years since. That includes Last 32 defeats in 2019 and 2020.
The club has already claimed the MTN8 title this season under Spanish coach Jose Riveiro and central to that success has been the acquisition of midfielder Miguel Timm, who has brought stability to the centre of the park.
The 30-year-old is certainly no stranger to the Nedbank Cup having appeared in the last two finals – lifting the trophy with TTM in 2021 and then losing to Mamelodi Sundowns when the club was rebranded as Marumo Gallants in 2022.
He has previously played for BidVest Wits, Mpumalanga Black Aces and Maritzburg United in the Premier Soccer League, and also had a spell alongside the great Ivorian striker Didier Drogba at Phoenix Rising in the United States second-tier.
But this is his first shot at a so-called ‘big club’ in South Africa, and while it has been a hard slog to get here, he says he has no regrets.

"I'm happy that I have never compared myself and my path to someone else's, that can be a big mistake when you feel you should be at a certain point (in your career) and you are not. I have focussed on my path and the understanding that it is where I am supposed to be at that time in my life,” Timm says.

"When I was at TTM I got a lot of backlash for joining a (smaller) club like that, but in my mind it was to take the team to a higher level and I was able to help them win the (Nedbank Cup) trophy. That is very difficult, so it was a proud moment for me.

"I have come here (Pirates) to a big club and my feelings are the same. I have got one trophy (the MTN8), but for a club like this it is not enough. We will go for the Nedbank Cup. We are going to fight to the very end.

"We know the work we need to put in, we just need to have faith in what we are doing and that it will take the team back to the top.”
Pirates have been drawn away to Motsepe Foundation Championship club All Stars in the Last 32, a game that will be played on February 12 (kick-off 20h00).   
It will be the first meeting between the two sides in what is the first season since the second-tier outfit located from Cape Town to Gauteng.

“I know enough about them, I have had conversations with their head coach (Sinethemba Badela). I know he is close friends with (Mamelodi Sundowns) coach Rhulani (Mokwena) so I can probably figure out what’s coming,” Timm says.

“In saying that, he is a good person and that’s why I say that the game needs to be approached with respect as all games should be. We will prepare accordingly to go through to the next round.
“We are Orlando Pirates, we need to win all the time. We try to win, it’s in our DNA now and it doesn’t change. Of course we want to win and we will prepare well, (whether there’s) pressure or not. It doesn’t really matter who you play. The approach needs to be the same.

“When the time comes for this fixture (against All Stars) we will be prepared for it.”
Pirates have a generally strong record against lower league opposition, bar their most famous defeat when they lost 4-1 to third-tier Maluti FET College in 2013, one of the greatest shocks in South African football history.
They have met teams from outside the topflight on nine occasions in the Nedbank Cup since 2008, winning seven of those to go with that one defeat and a thrilling 3-3 draw against Thanda Royal Zulu in 2014, a tie they eventually won on penalties.
Meetings with lower league teams have been rare in the recent past though, with 23 of their last 26 Nedbank Cup ties since the Maluti loss against topflight teams. The odd ones out were a 4-0 victory over Tornado FC in 2015 and a 3-1 win against EC Bees in 2017. Both those third-tier clubs were from the Eastern Cape. They also defeated second-tier Uthongathi 1-0 in 2021.