Something we don’t want to see…
On season so far
The curtain is about to be pulled on the 2021/22 DStv Premiership season, with only four rounds of fixtures to go. Now the guesswork is over and done with in terms of who will be crowned the league champions, following Mamelodi Sundowns’ unassailable lead at the summit as they’ve already won the title with four games still to play. Such has been their wonderful season. We still have two more categories that are yet to be confirmed, the Top Eight and the relegation.
That means there’s still a lot to play for as there is not much in terms of the points separating the teams challenging for the Top Eight bracket as well as those who are battling it out in the relegation zone. It looks like it is going to go to the wire for the two categories to be decided because of how close things are at both ends. When you look at the remaining games, especially for the teams in the relegation zone, most of the teams still have to play against each other. That means everyone’s fate is in their own hands.
When you look at the Top Eight, the most interesting part has to be Royal AM holding on to their second spot on the log. That is so impressive, considering what this team has been through this season. A new status and two teams merged right on the eve of the new campaign and you find that team sitting on the second spot on the log? Believe it or not, that’s an unbelievable achievement and we have to give them credit because they’ve done so well. For them to be where they are and being so consistent, we have to take our hats off to Royal AM. Finishing second will guarantee them a spot in the CAF Champions League and that’s a big thing and we have to applaud them. Credit to coach John Maduka and his technical staff, the players, management and everyone at AM. It is all about the trust and belief that the management has in their coach. That’s why we have to give the team’s management a pat on the shoulder because they’ve done really well to support their players and technical team.
On Sundowns
We also have to give Sundowns a huge round of applause for winning the league title. Congratulations are in order for coach Manqoba Mngqithi, Rhulani Mokwena and Steve Komphela together with the rest of the technical team, the management, players, supporters and everyone associated with the club. This is the fifth title in a row for the Chloorkop-based outfit and that’s commendable. It wasn’t easy at all, but they made it look easy. Believe it or not, from the beginning up to the end, this team has been consistent and it has to be said that these guys did it against all odds. I can remember, vividly, when Sundowns announced that the three coaches would be in charge of the team. There were a lot of sceptics who questioned whether these guys would be able to pull it off like coach Pitso Mosimane had done. So many people doubted them, but look what they’ve achieved. They have to be applauded.
The way they did it has been so impressive. It is so unfortunate that a lot of teams or coaches are aware of what Sundowns are capable of. They know what they bring to the table and you don’t even know who to plan against when coming up against them. That’s how much quality they have at their disposal because they can change their team as many times as they want, but whoever comes in will do an equally impressive job. It shows how focused Sundowns are and I don’t mean to say other teams aren’t focused. You can tell how
Sundowns do things even from the way they acquire players. Like I said in one of my previous columns, when they rotate players, it is not a train smash at all.You just see the continuation because even if they bring in six new players to the starting line-up, the culture and philosophy of the team remains the same.You hardly notice any difference because theirs is about the team’s identity, not the individual players. Congratulations to Sundowns, once again.
I just hope and wish that we can have a team that can emulate what Sundowns have done so that there can be more competition. If we are going to another season where Sundowns continue to dominate, then our league will have been turned into a South African version of LaLiga where it is either Real Madrid or Barcelona. We need other teams to start competing so that we don’t have one team dominating forever – that’s something we don’t want to see happening in our league. That’s the challenge to other teams.
On Nedbank Cup final
Let me congratulate both Sundowns, once again, and Marumo
Gallants FC for booking their place in the Nedbank Cup final. Is Sundowns going to make it a treble and sweep everything off or will Marumo put a stop to that? Coach ‘Dance’ Malesela has proven once again that nothing beats hard work. This would have been his third final if it wasn’t for his dismissal from Chippa United last season, when he had taken them so close to the final.
He joined Gallants when it looked like they were destined for a relegation battle at the end of the season, but look at them now, sitting comfortably in 11th position on the log. They’ve managed to sustain their status by moving away from the relegation zone and you can’t rule them out of a Top Eight finish, with four games still to play. They are not an easy side to play at all and they’ve bought into the coach’s philosophy and that’s wonderful to watch. They’ve not made a lot of changes in the team and it is good to see the consistency in their play. I wish both Gallants and Sundowns everything of the best for the final.
On supporters
It is so great to see the supporters back at the stadium after such a long period, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope they are really enjoying being back at the stadium because the game really missed them and I’m sure the players are so happy to have them back. Now they can rally behind their teams and play the 12th man role. It is so encouraging to see them going to the stadiums in numbers and creating a conducive atmosphere for the players because football is incomplete without the supporters.