Mamelodi Sundowns’ 2-1 victory over Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend signalled the start of their charge to the Castle Premiership title this season, with no other clubs able to muster the resources to match them over 30 matches.
Whoever said money can’t buy happiness was never the chairperson of a football club. Spending in football has been taken to a new level by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, and he has sat gleefully in the stands watching his side ease to back-to-back English Premiership victories over the past two seasons.
The 40-year-old has spent a whopping £268,3-million (nearly R4-billion) on player transfers and wages alone since taking charge in June 2003, allowing coach Jose Mourinho to build a squad of 25 to 30 players who are all good enough to start week in, week out.
Of course, the Holy Grail, the Uefa Champions League, has remained out of reach, but who would bet against Frank Lampard and co going one better than Arsenal last season and being crowned kings of Europe?
On a much smaller scale, the riches of mining magnate Patrice Motsepe have given us a mirror image of the “Chelsea effect” here in South Africa. Comparatively, in the South African context, Sundowns are as far ahead in spending power as Chelsea are in the English Premiership, and they too have splashed out on a formidable squad of players.
Coach Gordon Igesund has strength in depth that is the envy of all 15 of his fellow coaches in the top flight, and while at many clubs this competition for places might have led to disharmony and infighting, the Brazilians have developed into a squad who appear, when you spend time with them, to be a genuinely tight unit.
In many ways, Sundowns have changed the face of local soccer by paying wages that are on par with medium-level clubs in Europe. That has forced their competitors to raise their salary structure in order to attract players in what has traditionally been a woefully underpaid profession in this country.
They have also brought an added level of professionalism to the local game and represented South Africa with distinction at the 2005 Peace Cup in South Korea, where they were great ambassadors on and off the field of play.
But just like Abramovich at Chelsea, Motsepe has now called an end to his non-stop spending and given his coach an ultimatum of the league title or bust.
Luckily for Igesund, who spent much of his playing days at Admira Wacker in Austria, he is schooled in the German art of grinding out results with a minimum of fuss and flair — an attribute that took him to his three Premier Soccer League titles at Manning Rangers (1996/97), Orlando Pirates (2000/01) and Santos (2001/02).
This has certainly won him very few fans in South Africa. Our supporters don’t just demand that their team win; they expect them to do so in style, humiliating the opposition with shibobos and tshmayas.
But that is not the Igesund way, which, along with their impressive resources, is why his club is a certainty, in my opinion, to be successful and retain their league title this season. Sundowns, like Chelsea, play with a minimum of fuss and a direct style that is more intimidating than flashy.
Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates should take note.
Nick Said is editor: special projects for Kick Off magazine