Orlando Pirates’ second-place finish in the 2023-24 DStv Premiership season means they extended their unwanted record for most runner-up finishes since the start of the Premier Soccer League 28 years ago.
The Buccaneers ended a record 23 points behind champions Mamelodi Sundowns in second place last term, pipping Stellenbosch FC to the runners-up spot, and CAF Champions league football in 2024/25, on goal-difference.
Both finished with a respectable 50 points, which was way off runaway winners Sundowns.
It is the eighth time since the 1996-97 season that Pirates have finished in second, to go with their four league titles. They have finished in the top three in a remarkable 19 of those 28 seasons.
Sundowns have finished top two on 17 occasions in that time, but have not had more top-three finishes than Pirates over the same period.
Pirates had been level with their great Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs on six second-place finishes before the last two campaigns, but they have now moved ahead after Spanish coach Jose Riveiro guided them to a pair of runner-up places.
Usually, that would have been seen as a failure, but such has been the dominance of Sundowns in recent years that it was actually viewed as a triumph, bringing a return of Champions League football to the club to go with the back-to-back MTN8 and Nedbank Cup titles they have won in the last two seasons.
Chiefs finished runners-up in four of the first five DStv Premiership seasons, including the first three, in what appeared a cursed start to the new league competition.
Their latest silver medal was in 2019-20 when they lost out in the final 30 minutes of the season, having been held 1-1 by Baroka FC.
After Pirates (8) and Chiefs (6), the next highest number of second-place finishes are jointly held by Ajax Cape Town/Cape Town Spurs and Sundowns with three each.
Ajax/Spurs have not yet claimed the league title, the closest they came being the 2010-11 season when they lost it on the final day on goal difference after being held 2-2 at home by Maritzburg United.
Another team with multiple runners-up medals are SuperSport United, who also did it in back-to-back seasons under Pitso Mosimane between 2001 and 2003, but later went on to win three championships in a row with Gavin Hunt in charge.
Silver Stars, who later became Platinum Stars, also had two runners-up finishes, the first with Owen da Gama (2006/07) and the second under Cavin Johnson (2012-13).
Four clubs have finished runners-up on a single occasion – AmaZulu (2020-21), BidVest Wits (2015-16), Cape Town City (2021-22) and Moroka Swallows (2011-12).
DSTV PREMIERSHIP RUNNERS-UP (AND POINTS BEHIND WINNERS)
- 1996-97 – Kaizer Chiefs (8)
- 1997-98 – Kaizer Chiefs (5)
- 1998-99 – Kaizer Chiefs (0)
- 1999-00 – Orlando Prates (11)
- 2000-01 – Kaizer Chiefs (1)
- 2001-02 – SuperSport United (5)
- 2002-03 – SuperSport United (6)
- 2003-04 – Ajax Cape Town (6)
- 2004-05 – Orlando Prates (2)
- 2005-06 – Orlando Prates (3)
- 2006-07 – Silver Stars (10)
- 2007-08 – Ajax Cape Town (2)
- 2008-09 – Orlando Prates (0)
- 2009-10 – Mamelodi Sundowns (1)
- 2010-11 – Ajax Cape Town (0)
- 2011-12 – Moroka Swallows (2)
- 2012-13 – Platinum Stars (1)
- 2013-14 – Kaizer Chiefs (2)
- 2014-15 – Mamelodi Sundowns (12)
- 2015-16 – BidVest Wits (14)
- 2016-17 – Mamelodi Sundowns (3)
- 2017-18 – Orlando Prates (5)
- 2018-19 – Orlando Prates (2)
- 2019-20 – Kaizer Chiefs (2)
- 2020-21 – AmaZulu (13)
- 2021-22 – Cape Town City (16)
- 2022-23 – Orlando Pirates (16)
- 2023-24 – Orlando Pirates (23)
MOST SECOND-PLACE FINISHES
8 – Orlando Pirates
6 – Kaizer Chiefs
3 – Ajax Cape Town/Cape Town Spurs, Mamelodi Sundowns
2 – Silver Stars/Platinum Stars, SuperSport United
1 – AmaZulu, BidVest Wits, Cape Town City, Moroka Swallows