Phakaaathi.co.za Sundowns look an unstoppable force
Mamelodi Sundowns confirmed their status as the dominant force in the current era of South African football this weekend as they lifted their third Absa Premiership title in five seasons.
Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates may be the most popular teams in the country, and it will no doubt forever be that way, but football should never be a popularity contest, and in terms of championships, it is Pitso Mosimane’s Sundowns piling them up like they are going out of fashion.
Nobody has won more league titles (eight) in the Premier Soccer League era, and it is hard to see that changing any time soon, with the millions pouring in from Patrice Motsepe, and with the masterful hand of Mosimane continuing to show that on the subject of conducting a title challenge, there is no one with a more powerful wand. While having more money than anyone else certainly helps you stay on top, it is no guarantee of success across the global game, and Mosimane’s tactical acumen cannot be underestimated.
From the low of his ignominious departure from the Bafana Bafana job in 2012, have come incredible highs with Sundowns. The Brazilians have also shown the way for South African sides on the continent in recent years. Yes, they got into the Champions League group stages through the back door in 2016, but that was not their fault, and they only went on and won the whole tournament.
Sundowns reached the quarterfinals again last year, and in 2018 they are the only South African team left in a Confederation of African Football club competition, starting off a third successive Champions League group stage campaign against Wydad Casablanca on Saturday. On top of all this, Sundowns play a thrilling brand of attacking football, with Percy Tau mesmerising all and sundry this campaign, surely on the way to the Footballerof-the-Season award.
Pirates at least put up a fight for the league title this season, pushing Sundowns all the way to the penultimate game. Milutin Sredojevic deserves immense credit for turning it around after last season’s 11th-placed finish. Pirates have the makings of an excellent squad with talents like Justin Shonga, Augustine Mulenga, Luvuyo Memela, Musa Nyatama and Innocent Maela.
Kaizer Chiefs put up far less of a fight, and it all came to a horrible end for Steve Komphela, with the loss to Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup semifinals, and the subsequent disgraceful behaviour at the Moses Mabhida Stadium from so-called supporters. If it was an unfair way for a gentleman of the game to go, however, it was easy to accept his time was up after a third successive season without a trophy. Not that Komphela can be entirely to blame for the mess at Chiefs – their recruitment policy, for one, needs a total overhaul, with not enough quality brought in since Stuart Baxter left the club.
Bidvest Wits fell apart, meanwhile, putting up one of the meeker defences ever of a Premiership title. At least they have survived relegation, but it will be interesting to see what happens with Gavin Hunt at the end of this campaign.
It was, perhaps, just a blip, because Hunt and the Clever Boys had certainly been noble challengers to Sundowns in prior seasons.