One might have to be pardoned if one thought Isaac Asimov was talking about the two Soweto giants when he said, "How the mighty had fallen! Kingdoms!".

They were prefects in the old days, all part of the same province, which in turn had been part of a sector, which in turn had been part of a quadrant, which in turn had been part of the all-embracing Galactic Empire.

However, now that the Empire has lost control over the farther reaches of the Galaxy, these little splinter groups of planets became kingdoms.

How both Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs relinquished their positions of power in South African football and allowed Mamelodi Sundowns to dominate not only local but also continental football is still one unfathomable enigma.

Before writing this article, I went to the archives trying to find information on when was the last time the two Soweto giants went into a derby, where both teams were looking for maximum points that would elevate them to the top of the log, I found none.

The probability is that such information is so obsolete, its stored in floppy disks somewhere.

It's about time that both teams stopped basking in past glory and start to wrestle power from Mamelodi Sundowns.

Changing coaches every now and then has not brought much success to both teams and although Pirates have won trophies recently, in the league, they are far behind Sundowns.

Manchester City manager recently stated that success isn't brought by the coach alone in a club.

 "But l have not done it alone, this kind of success for a long time doesn't depend on the manager.

If people believe it's just me, they're making a mistake, it's the hierarchy and stability of decisions from the CEO, Sporting Directors, the players, all the people working with the club, I am part of that but I am not the only reason for the success we have had," Pep Guardiola.

Dr Irvin Khoza and Dr Kaizer Motaung have to consciously put strategies in place to reclaim their positions as giants of South African football, the choice is theirs.

"We are not imprisoned by our circumstances, we are not imprisoned by the luck we get or the inherent unfairness of life, we are not imprisoned by crushing setbacks, self-inflicted mistakes or our past success.

We are not imprisoned by the time in which we live, by the number of hours in a day or even the number of hours we're granted in our very short lives.

In the end, we can control only a tiny sliver of what happens to us, but even so, we are free to choose, free to become great by choice."

- Jim Collins, Good To Great (Hardcover) and Stop Thinking, Start Living.