Mamelodi Sundowns continue to dominate the local football arena, and the year 2023 has been no different.
Under coach Rulani Mokwena, the club is growing from strength to strength.
Growing from strength to strength
They wrapped up the league title with seven games remaining, finishing with a whopping 16-points gap between them and second placed Orlando Pirates. Out of their 30 games, they lost a mere two matches.
In the Caf Champions League, Sundowns were eliminated in the semifinals, having not lost a single match.
But they made amends when they made history by becoming the first club to win the inaugural African Football League and pocketing a cool R75-million after defeating Wydad Athletic.
Biggest club in the country
Even former Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has exerted that the Brazilians have overtaken Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. They are now the biggest club in the country. Mosimane said a big club is judged on the number of trophies it won.
“Chiefs were at some stage the biggest club. Pirates as well were a big team but Sundowns have opened a big gap. They are investing a lot of money into the club – they are buying the best players on the continent and also from South America. They have a system, they have scouts to go look for quality players,” said Mosimane.
“I was there I know it. I used to travel with Walter Steenbok to South America.
“In the PSL era, the biggest team is Sundowns, they are winning the trophies.”
Coach Mokwena’s influence
Others may argue that Mokwena is yet to be tested as a coach because he is working with some of the best players and that he inherited a mean machine.
But Mokwena, the youngest coach in the league, has instilled a winning spirit. He is introducing different tactics for different competitions and matches. Under his tenure, Sundowns are breaking all the records in the PSL. One of the records is going 32 straight matches without a single loss.
The South American impact
The Brazilians have invested wisely by bringing in the likes of Marcello Allende (Chilè), Junior Mendietta (Argentina), Lucas Ribeiro Costa (Brazil), Gaston Sirino (Uruguay) and Erwin Saavedra (Bolivia).
They also bought cleverly in Morocco’s Abdelmounaim Boutouil and in goalscoring machine Peter Shalulile from Namibia. They all made the team the powerhouse to be reckoned with.
