How Mamelodi Sundowns rose from ashes to conquer African football

In the South African context, Mamelodi Sundowns are not necessarily giants.

Of course, they have dominated the league since Pitso Mosimane’s eight-year tenure at the helm, even winning the CAF Champions League in 2016. That year, they also featured in the Fifa Club World Cup.

However, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates remain the giants of South African football despite going years without winning major silverware.

Times have changed, and Chiefs and their Soweto neighbours are no longer formidable propositions in the DStv Premiership.

Sundowns have already captued their sixth successive domestic league title while they are also chasing African glory.

On the other hand, Chiefs and Pirates are second and fourth with six games before the curtain comes down on the South African league.

Amakhosi and the Buccaneers, as Chiefs and Pirates are affectionately known, are a distant 20 points behind Sundowns.

Billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe has ensured his Sundowns dominate every category – trophies, players, coaching staff, scouting network and continental vision.

The CAF president, Motsepe, has ensured the Brazilians leave their rivals lagging light years behind.

But how have Masandawana gone from strength to strength and now eclipses their Soweto rivals in many areas?

Maintained same coaches

The mining magnate, who bought Sundowns in 2003 from the Tsichlas family for an estimated US$5 million, would have mastered his biggest football lessons in his first few years of owning the Pretoria club.

A lengthy trophy drought saw the Brazilians play musical chairs in the dugout. Neil Tovey and Miguel Gamondi guided them to the 2006 league title as co-coaches.

But there was no place for them the following season as they were replaced by Gordon Igesund, a championship winner with Manning Rangers, Santos and Orlando Pirates prior.

Igesund did it again at Sundowns in 2007, but the late Frenchman Henri Michel took over three months into the 2008/09 campaign.

Four months later, he was shown the exit door and replaced by Trott Moloto on an interim basis. In the background, they were working on bringing former Barcelona great Hristo Stoichkov.

The Bulgarian eventually came but cut ties with the Tshwane giants after finishing second.

His assistant, Antonio Lopez Habas, stepped into his big boots, but the Spaniard threw in the towel before the end of the 2010/11 season following death threats from angry club fans.

In came the highly-rated Dutchman Johan Neeskens, a dear friend of the late Johan Cruyff. He only lasted a little over 50 matches with no trophy. That particular season, Sundowns were almost relegated.

Mosimane had acrimoniously parted ways with Bafana Bafana after his brief post-2010 FIFA World Cup.

In December 2012, he took over and started rebuilding the club. In his eight years at the helm, he won the Champions League, five PSL titles, two Nedbank Cup trophies and the Telkom Cup.

When he departed, he handed over the baton to Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena, who previously served as his assistants.

Together as co-coaches, the two won two league titles. With Mokwena, aged 36, now the head coach, they have won the third title.

On the other side of Gauteng – in Soweto – a township bordering the city's mining belt in the south – Chiefs and Pirates bear the scars of multiple coaching changes.

Since Stuart Baxter was around in 2015, Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp and Gavin Hunt tried to stamp their authority on the Chiefs squad. Now Arthur Zwane is at the helm after taking over from Baxter, who returned in 2021.

Their bitter neighbours, Pirates, also have a revolving door for coaches. Since Ruud Krol last won the title in 2011, the Bucs’ hot seat has exchanged hands like no man’s business. Craig Rosslee, Julio Cesar Leal, Augusto Palacios, Roger de Sa, Vladimir Vermezovic, Eric Tinkler, Kjell Jonevret, Milutin Sredojevic, Rulani Mokwena, Jozef Zinnbauer and Fadlu Davids/Mandla Ncikazi have all taken turns to oversee the long dry spell.

Spaniard Jose Riveiro is at the wheel now, having taken over from the duo of Ncikazi (now second assistant) and Davids (who left at the expiry of his contract) during the off-season.

Scouting networks

Motsepe’s Sundowns, run by his 32-year-old son, Tlhopie, as chairman, reportedly has over 30 scouts scattered countrywide.

Their squad boasts talents from Chile, Uruguay, Ethiopia, Morocco and Bolivia.

Former Chelsea chief international scout, Flemming Berg, serves as sporting director at the club.

When announcing his appointment, Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe said the Dane understood that Mamelodi Sundowns had a responsibility to its most important partner – the supporters.

“He understands our responsibility is to play entertaining, inspiring and winning football. The sporting director also understands that Mamelodi Sundowns is not just a football club. We are a South African footballing institution and have a duty to our country,” he said.

A former Downs scout Floyd Mogale said the meticulous work that goes into the club’s scouting puts them 10 years ahead of their rivals.

“In terms of structure, the academy, analysis and scouting – they’re 10 years ahead of South African football,” Mogale said.

SAFA technical director Walter Steenbok says they have taken the game to another level.

“They have even taken their game to another level by appointing data analysts – data scouts, which is what big teams abroad do,” Steenbok, a renowned scout, said.

Interestingly, a former Pirates player has accused two officials of interfering in the coach’s job and being responsible for recruiting players.

“Some clubs bring in players based on what agents tell them. Agents will sell you, dummies,” added Mogale.

Chiefs have had their fans question the pedigree of players they sign for a while now.

Continental glory

Winning the local league has ceased to be an issue for them. It’s Africa they are targeting, and the club management is investing in it.

In the 2021/22 season, Sundowns and Pirates had assignments in North Africa.

The South African champions left on a Monday for a Saturday fixture in Sudan, while the Buccaneers left on Thursday for a Sunday game.

It means Downs arrived on a Tuesday and had enough time to acclimatise.

After travelling via Dubai and Tunisia before connecting to their final destination, Pirates only had two days in Libya.

“It shows how much of a priority CAF competitions are to Sundowns. Clubs like Al Ahly fly private, so they can get to their opponents early without the hassle of long, tedious flights. It’s tiring to fly,” an Orlando Pirates player said.

Mngqithi has previously said: “We want to conquer Africa, and it starts with the PSL.”

Sundowns are nicknamed Bafana ba Style (Stylish boys). Aptly so. The Brazilians play some of the best football in South Africa, dubbed Shoe Shine Piano or your Tiki Taka in Spain, loosely translated as touch-touch.

Former Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral has credited their success to a “long-term plan”, including a clear style of play and philosophy.

“Chiefs shouldn’t be playing a transition game. They have always been a team that dominates matches, so they need to find new strategies. When the fans are at the stadiums, they want to see a certain type of football win in a certain way, and I think Chiefs have enough quality in the team, so they need to look into the details. What is the philosophy, and I know there are capable people there,” Ertugral said.

Felix Sapao believes Sundowns have a clearly defined style of play and sign players who suit it.

“Sundowns have a way of playing, a clear style of play and the kind of players they sign fit into it. It’s taken them time to develop that style, and they seem to stick to it,” Sapao said.

Sapao fears that if Sundowns maintain this, they will continue to enjoy an impressive redecoration of their cash-flush trophy cabinet.

On the other hand, their rivals will have to settle for a flicker of past glories.