Hopes rise with Sundowns
MEDITOR’S VIEW AMELODI Sundowns might be a Pretoria-based football club but under the stewardship of Pitso Mosimane, the team has managed to make all South Africans proud of the standard of our soccer.
On Saturday night, the current African Champions were crowned the kings of African football after defeating TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo by a solitary goal at Loftus Stadium.
For a very long time our big teams (Kaizer Chiefs, Sundowns and Supersport United) struggled to beat their counterparts in African competitions. Only Orlando Pirates had represented the country with aplomb by winning the same competition in 1995 and losing in the final more recently. However, Mosimane and his charges are changing this narrative.
Amasandawane, as Sundowns are affectionately known, were not intimidated by their more decorated opponents, which is indicative of the experience the players have earned through playing and beating top African sides such as Zamalek (Egypt), Al Ahly (Egypt) and ES Setif (Algeria).
By winning the Caf Super Cup, Sundowns have confirmed their status as the kings of Africa. The Super Cup pits the Caf Champions League victors (Sundowns) against the Caf Confederations Cup winners in a once-off final hosted by the Champions League winners.
This is great not only for the team from Mamelodi, but for the whole country, as our teams have always played second fiddle to the North African sides.
Credit must also go to Sundowns fans for coming out in numbers to support their team, putting an end to the embarrassing situation where visiting teams play in front of empty stands when they play against our teams.
Club president billionaire Patrice Motsepe has realised the vision he set for himself when he bought the majority shares at the club. We congratulate Mosimane for raising the bar and showing that local coaches can do just as well as their foreign counterparts.
This should go a long way to encouraging PSL club owners to hire local coaches instead of importing coaches with questionable credentials from overseas at inflated salaries.
By conquering the continent, Mosimane has sent a strong message to teams visiting our shores that South African teams should not be taken lightly. He has also sent a message to other Premier Soccer League teams that they must take continental competitions seriously if they want the national team to do well in Africa.
While Sundowns’ achievements have been well documented, we urge other teams in the PSL to work hard to emulate them by winning silverware on the African continent. That’s the only way South African players can be snapped up by European clubs, while making Bafana Bafana a force to be reckoned with in African football.