Andrew Muchineripi Soccer
The draw for the 1999 African Champions League club competition was particularly kind to Sundowns as they dodged potentially awkward opponents from Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the preliminary rounds.
They duly disposed of enthusiastic but limited Telecom Wanderers of Malawi in the first round, with burly Nigerian striker Raphael Chukwu scoring twice in a 5-1 aggregate victory.
Next came Saint Louisienne from the French- controlled Indian Ocean island of Reunion, a team whose only previous appearance ended almost before it began with a preliminary- round defeat.
Despite having to surmount the psychological barrier of not progressing beyond the second round in three previous African adventures, Sundowns justifiably believed a place in the mini-league phase was there for the taking.
Perhaps the fact that the Saints arrived in Pretoria minus five regulars due to injuries and suspensions lulled Sundowns into a false sense of security, but the first leg certainly did not go according to the South African script.
Not for the first time, the Sundowns players, who often score with such gay abandon in domestic competitions, discovered that life against a packed and disciplined defence is an entirely different matter.
The old South African failing of little or no movement off the ball was evident and when they did come within sight of the Reunion goalposts, the Saints goalkeeper was in inspired form.
He failed just once when captain Daniel Mudau cleverly laid a pass to arguably the most polished left foot in South Africa, Cameroonian Roger Feutmba, and the ball had “goal” written on it long before crossing the line.
Ineffective Sundowns striker Raphael Chukwu was substituted early in the second half and as the team grew increasingly frustrated at their failure to score, indiscipline took root.
Marking became slack, and dreadlocked Cameroon Alain Amougou took advantage to head an equaliser midway through the second half that marked the beginning of the end for the Brazilians.
As if a 1-1 draw did not present enough problems for coach Ted Dumitru, a series of events beyond his control virtually destroyed his chances of survival even before the return match kicked off.
In a last-minute change of plan, national coach Trott Moloto called up five Sundowns players for a friendship tour of the Caribbean that won him few friends at the central Johannesburg offices of the “Brazilians”.
The fact that goalkeeper John Tlale did not get even one minute of action in Trinidad and Tobago or Jamaica could only have added to the anger felt by Sundowns management.
Sundowns wanted to leave South Africa for Reunion four days before the second leg, only to be foiled because the five national squad players returned from the West Indies several hours after the flight to the Indian Ocean island left.
Worse was to follow two days later when the jet taking Sundowns to Reunion via Madagascar struck a passenger bridge at Johannesburg International airport and damaged an engine, causing a 24-hour delay.
After finally taking off at 8am last Friday, Sundowns touched down in Reunion at 9pm following yet another delay en route. A weary squad then faced a 90km drive to the stadium, where limb loosening ended at midnight. The final insult came when Sundowns raced into a 2-0 lead after 37 minutes through goals from Feutmba and Mudau before the Saints came alive, and three goals within six minutes during the second half ensured a 4-2 victory.
So Saints collect R900 000 for reaching the group phase with the prospect of more lucre should they win, draw or even score in six group matches against the elite of Africa like ASEC of Cote d’Ivoire and Esperance of Tunisia.
In traditional South African soccer fashion, everyone blamed everyone else for the Sundowns debacle with Dumitru pointing the finger of blame squarely at South African Football Association (Safa) chief executive Raymond Hack.
While Safa must accept some blame for the last-minute decision to include Sundowns players, attacking Hack is too simplistic and does not come close to addressing the real problem.
If this humble member of the Muchineripi clan was paid even R100 each time he campaigned for a smaller Premier Soccer League (PSL), he could have retired long ago to look after his long-neglected cattle.
PSL chief executive Joe Ndhlela says he needs concrete reasons why he must attempt to cut the 18-team national league. I humbly take the opposite view and would like to know why we must have an 18-team championship.
These days there is not enough preparatory time for Bafana Bafana nor clubs with international commitments. The only thing there is sufficient time for is endless, largely mediocre league games watched by handfuls of fans. I rest my case.