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Spectacular season for Pirates and Sundowns

By Kgomotso Mokoena
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Mamelodi Sundowns ended a 10-year wait to get their itchy fingers on the CAF Champions League second star.

The curtain finally fell on the South African football calendar, and what a spectacular season it was.

There was confetti and champagne when Orlando Pirates righted their wrongs and finally defeated Orbit College to lift their first league title in 14 years. This was after they had made a big cock-up a week before when they drew 0-0 with Durban City and their chances were up in the sky.

On Sunday, Mamelodi Sundowns ended a 10-year wait to get their itchy fingers on the CAF Champions League second star. There was much relief from the Masandawana die-hards who have been crashing and burning since Pitso Mosimane brought them the holy grail in 2016. Even Bafana coach Hugo Broos demonstrated his delight after Sundowns outmanoeuvred Morocco’s AS FAR 2-1 in the two-legged Champions League final.

It was celebrations all round in Chloorkop and for those who swear by the crossbones and skull nationwide. Open-bus festivities were all of a sudden fashionable as they roamed the streets of Mamelodi in Pretoria and Orlando in Soweto, where the umbilical cords of the two clubs fell off.

The supporters seemed much happier than the players; they were unplayable and tried to outdo one another on social media, on radio shows, in taverns, even in workplaces and everywhere else. After all, they were the ones on the frontline, either giving or taking heat from their rival supporters.

Rewards for hard work

Maybe the players looked a bit fatigued. In fact and to be honest, they were exhausted, especially the Sundowns stars who zig-zagged the African continent as if they were playing hopscotch. Nonetheless, the players reaped the rewards of their hard work after a long, arduous campaign.

Bucs supremo Irvin “Iron Duke” Khoza wanted to rectify the notion about the “14-year drought” – as it came across like pulling sugar out of Kool-Aid because the Buccaneers had one hell of a fantastic 2025/26 season. In his heartfelt message to the club’s spiritual owners, the supporters, Khoza said: “It was not lost on me that in a season in which we won a treble and the Diski Challenge to boot, one of the dominant themes was: ‘after a 14-year drought’”.

In that period, Orlando Pirates won five MTN8 titles; three Nedbank Cups and one Carling Knockout; reached the CAF Champions League final and two CAF Confederation Cup finals; and returned to the CAF Champions League semifinals.

The “14-year drought” theme clearly speaks to the premier status of the PSL league title.

The Bafana coach was also over the moon about Sundowns hammering the unsporting Moroccans because that will make his job a little easier in the coming World Cup: “The club prepared the players so well for that game because it was a tremendously difficult game …. Those players need relaxing – they won’t play against Nicaragua and they will start preparing for the World Cup on Saturday after the game. I’m certainly happy that Sundowns won the Champions League because I was afraid that if they had lost, I would get players who would be very disappointed. So now they all have that boost of confidence and that helps a lot.”

Noticing that they are being left behind, Kaizer Chiefs are also moving underground unnoticed. They got rid of their co-coaches, who were wet behind the ears, and the technical team that arrived with Nasredine Nabi. They are undergoing an overhaul and might get back on their road to recovery.

Winning last season’s Nedbank Cup was just papering over the cracks; there was no long-term strategy to sustain the excitement. Their long-suffering fans cannot take the abuse any more. It’s time Amakhosi rejoined the SA diski party.

 

  • The South African football season has concluded.
  • It was described as a spectacular season.
  • The article provides an overview of the football calendar's end.
  • Full story details require purchasing the e-edition of Sunday World.
  • The e-edition is available via Magzter online platform.
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The curtain finally fell on the South African football calendar, and what a spectacular season it was.

There was confetti and champagne when Orlando Pirates righted their wrongs and finally defeated Orbit College to lift their first league title in 14 years. This was after they had made a big cock-up a week before when they drew 0-0 with Durban City and their chances were up in the sky.

On Sunday, Mamelodi Sundowns ended a 10-year wait to get their itchy fingers on the CAF Champions League second star. There was much relief from the Masandawana die-hards who have been crashing and burning since Pitso Mosimane brought them the holy grail in 2016. Even Bafana coach Hugo Broos demonstrated his delight after Sundowns outmanoeuvred Morocco’s AS FAR 2-1 in the two-legged Champions League final.

It was celebrations all round in Chloorkop and for those who swear by the crossbones and skull nationwide. Open-bus festivities were all of a sudden fashionable as they roamed the streets of Mamelodi in Pretoria and Orlando in Soweto, where the umbilical cords of the two clubs fell off.

The supporters seemed much happier than the players; they were unplayable and tried to outdo one another on social media, on radio shows, in taverns, even in workplaces and everywhere else. After all, they were the ones on the frontline, either giving or taking heat from their rival supporters.

Maybe the players looked a bit fatigued. In fact and to be honest, they were exhausted, especially the Sundowns stars who zig-zagged the African continent as if they were playing hopscotch. Nonetheless, the players reaped the rewards of their hard work after a long, arduous campaign.

Bucs supremo Irvin “Iron Duke” Khoza wanted to rectify the notion about the “14-year drought” – as it came across like pulling sugar out of Kool-Aid because the Buccaneers had one hell of a fantastic 2025/26 season. In his heartfelt message to the club’s spiritual owners, the supporters, Khoza said: “It was not lost on me that in a season in which we won a treble and the Diski Challenge to boot, one of the dominant themes was: ‘after a 14-year drought’”.

In that period, Orlando Pirates won five MTN8 titles; three Nedbank Cups and one Carling Knockout; reached the CAF Champions League final and two CAF Confederation Cup finals; and returned to the CAF Champions League semifinals.

The “14-year drought” theme clearly speaks to the premier status of the PSL league title.

The Bafana coach was also over the moon about Sundowns hammering the unsporting Moroccans because that will make his job a little easier in the coming World Cup: “The club prepared the players so well for that game because it was a tremendously difficult game …. Those players need relaxing – they won’t play against Nicaragua and they will start preparing for the World Cup on Saturday after the game. I’m certainly happy that Sundowns won the Champions League because I was afraid that if they had lost, I would get players who would be very disappointed. So now they all have that boost of confidence and that helps a lot.”

Noticing that they are being left behind, Kaizer Chiefs are also moving underground unnoticed. They got rid of their co-coaches, who were wet behind the ears, and the technical team that arrived with Nasredine Nabi. They are undergoing an overhaul and might get back on their road to recovery.

Winning last season’s Nedbank Cup was just papering over the cracks; there was no long-term strategy to sustain the excitement. Their long-suffering fans cannot take the abuse any more. It’s time Amakhosi rejoined the SA diski party.