Mabunda: We can win Club World Cup

Anything is possible, says unlikely Brazilians hero, as excitement builds ahead of the Caf champs’ debut in tournament KINGSTONNKHATHA DOVEWOME COLEALEXANDER

TIYANI MABUNDA’S journey to becoming an African champion and a part of the first South African club to play in the Fifa Club World Cup was littered with potholes, disappointment and heartbreak.

The Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder didn’t look like he would ever play for the club after joining them from Black Leopards. He was sent on loan to Free State Stars and upon his return, despite doing well in Bethlehem, was demoted to the reserve team and was SUPERSPORT United are still sweating over the availability of striker Jeremy Brockie ahead of this weekend’s Telkom Knockout final against Cape Town City in Polokwane. The goal ace injured his ankle after a robust tackle by Orlando Pirates defender Thabo Matlaba when the two sides met in the semi-final of the cup 10 days ago in Nelspruit. There hasn’t really been an over reliance on Brockie He’s the most likely to get the nod should Brockie not recover in time for Saturday’s cup final, but he’s not stepped up when given a chance. Nkhatha’s advantage is that Baxter has a soft spot for him after the two worked together at Kazier Chiefs, where the striker was often booed for his lack of goals and the unbelievable amount of fluffed chances, but enjoyed the coach’s full support. His only contribution in the even transfer-listed at one stage. He took all of that on the chin, k n u c k l e d down and w o r k e d his way back into the first team, filling the void left by Bongani Zungu.

His loan spell in Bethlehem helped him two league matches he played as a direct replacement for Brockie was two yellow cards in the 2-0 win over Bidvest Wits and goalless draw away to Bloemfontein Celtic respectively. Nkhatha’s scoring ratio also makes for grimacing reading with two goals in 15 games, the majority of which are substitute appearances. STARTING PROBABILITY: Can I hear a: Hell Yeah! to not only find himself, but the loss of a friend made him value the small victories, despite big defeats w e a r i n g him down. “I wasn’t playing at S u n d o w n s because I was injured at first,” Mabunda said. “After I recovered, they told me to compete for my place in the team. I requested to go on loan at Free State so that I could gain more confidence. It’s not easy to come from an injury and get your place. So I had to go and compete somewhere else, get my confidence back and then come back to fight for a place at Sundowns.

“When I lost my friend at Free State Stars, Richard Henyekane, it was a really difficult moment for me because I came with him from Sundowns. It was really painful. this season, but his four goals and four assists in 14 matches from all competitions so far highlights his worth.

Having started every game for SuperSport until missing the previous two Absa Premiership matches subsequent to the injury, coach Stuart Baxter should already have an alternative. But who is the best candidate? Here soccer writer MAZOLA MOLEFE speculates. The Togolese international is slowly making his way back from a knee injury suffered in September in a league game away to Maritzburg United. On potential, ability, talent and his track record, Wome is a no-brainer as an alternative to Brockie. But he has not finished a game in the seven he has featured in so far this season, and he has also not played for the club in the Telkom Knockout. Baxter appears reluctant to unleash I re-evaluated a lot of things in my life after that. I believe that wherever Richard is, he is proud of me.”

Mabunda has achieved a lot since Henyekane passed away in a car accident in April last year. “Shuga”, as Mabunda is affectionately known, contributed to Sundowns winning the Absa Premiership, unlike his other league medal that he won as a squad member three seasons ago. He has been called up to Bafana Bafana after his exploits on the continent dur- the former Sundowns hitman, perhaps fearing he could aggravate his injury. Due to his limited game time and spells on the sidelines, Wome is yet to score and played a bit-part in the two games Brockie sat out in the lead up to Saturday’s tie. But Brockie’s injury as well as concerns about Bradley Grobler’s fitness could mean both Nkhatha and Wome get to play. STARTING PROBABILITY: Perhaps. Maybe. ing Sundowns’ successful CAF Champions League quest. That title earned the Brazilians a place in the Club World Cup in Japan.

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for quite a long time,” Mabunda said. “It’s been a rough journey but now it’s actually happening. We believe that from the past few games that we played before Japan, we have gained enough confidence. If you had told me two seasons ago that I would be at this stage, I would have been He’s the only other alternative that’s not like-for-like as he is an attacking midfielder, but proved to be an option for Baxter in the stalemate against Celtic. The former Polokwane City man, a 2015 Footballer of the Year nominee, was deployed just behind Nkhatha on Sunday. He was ineffective, being taken off as the coach introduced Wome in a tactical change. Alexander has only made five appearances for excited, although I wouldn’t have seen it coming. Don’t be surprised then if you see us coming back with the trophy from Japan. We do well when not much is expected from us.”

For Sundowns to be world champions, they must first go through either Japanese league winners Kashima Antlers or Oceania champions Auckland City in the quarter-finals on Sunday. Sundowns will know who they will play tomorrow when these two clubs clash. If they get through to the semi- his new club this season, struggling with injuries to make an impact. But he is capable of the rare goal when least expected as evidenced by his four strikes in 28 league matches for Polokwane City two seasons ago. It was that campaign that first caught Baxter’s attention, but, then at Chiefs, the Scotsman couldn’t land his signature. STARTING PROBABILITY: Forget about it finals, South American champions Atletico Nacional await them and then possibly Real Madrid in the final. Facing Madrid is a prospect that excites everyone at Sundowns.

“I believe that there is power in the words that people speak,” Mabunda said.

“There’s been a lot of talk about us playing against Real Madrid. If people want to see us in the final, we must just execute every team on our way to reach the final.”

The Brazilians settled into Osaka yesterday and will hold their first training session in the city today.