Sundowns will continue to dominate

“Pirates supporters understood their team way better than even coaches.”

“If that doesn’t tell you Sundowns mean business…”

Orlando Pirates legend, Joseph Makhanya, is back with Part 2 of his interview with Soccer Laduma editor, Vuyani Joni, as he continues from where he left off last week. In this conversation, the former crowd-favorite opens up about the difference between playing for a massive outfit like the Buccaneers and other teams. He also talks about Mamelodi Sundowns’ dominance and why he feels it isn’t about to stop. “Duku-Duku” also dispels the myth about the difference between the Chloorkop-based side and the two Soweto giants.

Vuyani Joni: Big Joe, last week you were talking about playing for Orlando Pirates being different from any other club.

Joseph Makhanya: You see, Pirates now have a tendency of getting players from smaller teams and they are expected to excel. Trust me, that’s a big challenge to the players because ukudlalela i (to play for) Baroka FC, for instance, is not the same as playing for Pirates and the challenges are different. At Baroka, if you win, it is fine and everyone is happy, but at Pirates, it is equally important how you win. You deal with tough situations at Pirates. We lost Luvuyo Memela, Justin Shonga and Augustine Mulenga, among some great players, and who did we replace them with? Have they delivered under the pressure that comes with playing for Pirates? You’re dealing with pressure every week at Pirates and you can’t expect a player from a small team to handle that pressure. Yes, sometimes it does work that a player would come from a small team and thrive, but it doesn’t happen all the time.You can’t sign a player just because he had a good game and even scored against Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs – no, no, no. You must do proper research on the player. If you are a big team, you can’t compromise on quality and you have to maintain high standards all the time. You have to have a benchmark and that’s how you maintain the team and continue to produce quality whenever it is needed.

VJ: Right.

JM: The chopping and changing of coaches is also not helping. Look at what Mamelodi Sundowns have achieved since they allowed coach Pitso Mosimane to lay the foundation at the club. It is not easy to destroy a solid foundation that was built over a period of five to 10 years and that’s the difference between Mamelodi Sundowns and the other clubs. Even when they sign a player, they do proper research and know exactly why they need that player and what is expected of him. Even before a player comes onboard, everyone knows what he brings to the team. They also sign players who have something that their current players don’t have and that’s how you create competition, instead of signing similar players.

VJ: What does it mean to play for a big team like Pirates?

JM: Eish, playing for Pirates means you have people that you need to account to. It means the results or your performance is no longer just about you. It is about the supporters because there’s a benchmark that was set before you got there. There’s a history behind the team. There are people who contributed a lot to the team, some sacrificed their lives for this team, and that means you are representing a wider scope. There have been tears, joy and everything at this club, so when you join them, it means you have big shoes to fill. Pirates produced a long list of great players from 1937 and all those people hold you accountable because you’re representing them. That means there’s always pressure on you to perform. There are huge expectations from everyone associated with the club. They don’t care even if you have personal problems that you are dealing with, once you step into the field, you just have to deliver. That’s exactly what is happening even at Mamelodi Sundowns now, whereas this only used to happen at Pirates and Chiefs. You can’t just be an ordinary player if you want to play for those teams. You need to have something that they don’t already have. Playing for these teams means you’re a special player and you’ve been given a serious responsibility to represent millions of people.

VJ: True.

JM: Some people died for Pirates and we were told that from as early as our development days. That means when you play, you’re carrying the weight of their expectations as well. You are carrying all the emotional investment from the supporters who are very demanding. Honestly, I don’t know if we are talking about the same Pirates supporters today compared to our time. Our supporters used to demand top performances from us, not just the coaches, and if we lost two games, they’d show up at training demanding answers. All they wanted to see was their team playing well and winning. If we lost, we had to give it our all and lose because the opposition was better, not because we were weak. That made me realise that Pirates supporters understood their team way better than even coaches at times. The supporters did that to make sure that we understood our responsibility and we got attached to the club. Once you got into that team, you got so attached to it that you became a supporter immediately. Even now, I include myself when I’m talking about the club even though I’m not playing any role anymore. That’s because of the way we grew to love this team. VJ: Do any of the current Pirates players have any of the traits you’ve mentioned? JM: All I can say is that there are players who have some traits, but then there are some who you can see that they’re just playing the game. Dynamics have changed, but having someone who will constantly remind you of why you’re there, especially for the new players, goes a long way. You need to have players who have done it all to do that role. Like I said last week, this is an old team, but how many legendary figures have we got in the team currently? For instance, you only have Happy (Jele) in the playing personnel and you can’t expect him to maintain the team’s identity and culture on his own, as we continue to bring in new players almost every season. If you are from Baroka or Chippa (United), playing for Pirates is just a change of lifestyle and environment. We are talking about the bright lights of Johannesburg here. There are social demands even before you start your career because Polokwane or Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) don’t even compare to the lifestyle in Jozi. So, you can blame players, sometimes, only to find that their performances are suffering because of off-thefield incidents that he has no one to share with. We’ve had ill-discipline cases recently and that told me some of the players aren’t aware who they are playing for and they also don’t have anyone to guide them or for them to speak to. It is easy for people to recognise you when playing for Pirates and you won’t get away with things you used to get away with from your previous club.

VJ: Moving on. Sundowns’ dominance has taken the shine away from both Pirates and Chiefs. They won their fifth back-to-back league title last week. What do you make of the way they have been bullying the two teams?

JM: Errr… it is a tough one. I feel like Sundowns are always trying to re-invest into the team. They are always trying to improve and are never satisfied. I mean, this team is led by three highly qualified coaches who know their story. These are coaches who are seriously passionate about the game and you can tell, even from a distance, that there is a lot of work that goes into the team behind the scenes. Like I said last week, coaches need to work even harder now that before. I still regret the big mistake we made as Pirates to let Rhulani (Mokwena) go – it was a big mistake! We shouldn’t have let Rhulani go. The guy is so hungry for success and he’s passionate about the game. He’s always looking to improve and he was on the right track at Pirates. Sundowns are seriously looking to conquer because coach Manqoba (Mngqithi) is solid and knows his story and so is coach Steve (Komphela). You have three coaches that complement one another so well and when they took over, not many believed they’d succeed, but look at them now. There’s identity and style at Sundowns, so whoever comes there has to continue in the same style and identity. Whenever they recruit players, they go for the best. If you’ve got (Aubrey) Modiba and, for example, he gets four runs with two good crosses or assists, you will look to bring Surprise (Ralani), who will do double than Modiba can offer. That’s how you maintain your standard and quality, unlike what is happening with the two Soweto giants, at the moment, unfortunately. Sundowns will continue to dominate local football because they mean business.

VJ: You’re right.

JM: Look, despite their dominance, they went on and brought a new Technical Director (Flemming Berg), who is coming with a huge reputation. If that doesn’t tell you Sundowns mean business, I don’t know what will. This guy is going to put a lot more pressure on the technical team that has been doing so well already and that means expectations will increase. Their vision is clear and they want to continue to dominate local football to such an extent that they become unstoppable. Even this season, it is like they won the league title jogging while everyone else was running at full speed but still couldn’t catch up with them. Their next challenge is to dominate the continent because they’ve won everything locally. This is not by accident, it is the result of planning and having a vision. The tone has been set and from day one, Patrice Motsepe (Sundowns president) made it clear that his vision was to see this club dominating locally and continentally. They’ve done it all at home and are now making their way towards the continent.

VJ: A lot of people always look at Motsepe’s billions as a difference between his club and the two Soweto giants. Is that the only difference? Are the two teams poor?

JM: When it comes to the three teams you’ve mentioned, I feel they can compete toe-to-toe for anything they need. If money is the difference, as some people seem to believe, the two teams have far more lucrative sponsorship deals than Sundowns. The sponsors can definitely assist them, which is why I believe money is not the only difference here. The difference is the vision which was put out there by Sundowns and they went on to realise it. They’ve invested so much in their team that even when they win, the money goes back to the team. I don’t know if I’m right or wrong, their owner is a billionaire and the difference is that he’s got a vision and knows where he wants to see his team in the future. He wants to see them as a powerhouse not just in the country but in the continent as well. They also want to see themselves competing at the FIFA Club World Cup on a regular basis. Once the vision is clear, I feel it is easy for everyone to buy into it. Everyone who joins Sundowns now know where the team is headed and what is expected from them. It is not a question of money but having a vision. Maybe the hunger is no longer there at the other teams, as long as they win from time to time, it is alright, while Sundowns continue to push the standards. They’re on some “catch us if you can”mode. Honestly, Pirates and Chiefs are the only two teams in the country that can challenge Sundowns when it comes to player and technical team recruitment.

VJ: Before we let you go, any message to Bucs management?

JM: I know everyone there loves this team and so do we all. If you want to appoint a new coach, get someone who will take the team to the next level. If you’re getting a Technical Director, please get someone with experience to give direction. This is a big team, but how come we have so few people surrounding our team? How can we expect them to carry so much weight and history on their own? To our supporters, let’s please rally behind our team.

VJ: Big Joe, thanks so much for your time.

JM: You’re welcome, bra Vuyi. ❐