The jury is out over the fortunes of two of Tshwane’s Premier League sides who have stuttered and stumbled all the way since the start of the 2010-2011 Absa Premiership campaign, leaving doubts about whether they have the energy to slug it out until the end of the year, as they have done for the past five years.
Mamelodi Sundowns won the championship back-to-back and then passed the baton on to their cross-town rivals, SuperSport United, who won it for a record three successive years. But, looking at their present log position, it is safe to say “Matsatsantsa” stand no chance of retaining the prestigious trophy — the once “mean machine” of South African football is flirting dangerously with relegation.
For a team that dominated the local game and developed a style called “soek-soek” football — or what Barcelona supporters describe as “tiki-taka” football — what exacttly has gone wrong?
“It is a combination of factors,” said José Ferreira, United’s chief operations officer. “A lack of financial resources as well as the departure of key players has come to haunt us. No other team can lose as many players as we did and still remain the same. It catches up with you soon and for ‘U’ that time is now.”
Over the years United have lost players like Katlego Mphela, Katlego Mashego, Teko Modise, Hlompho Kekana, Tsietsi Mahoa, Daine Klate and Elias Pelembe — and recently Bongani Khumalo signed for Tottenham Hotspurs. Ferreira said that, although they had in the past managed to secure replacements, this time it had been tough.
“The loss of Klate in particular has been devastating. Klate was not just a winger, he was the best crosser of the ball and his constant supply of crosses assisted our strikers to score. He worked his socks off down the wing and, what is more, he scored goals and it has been difficult to find a replacement.
“In addition, I think as a group our players have achieved a lot. They started to feel they had achieved everything. And, once players start feeling that way, it becomes difficult to keep them motivated. It was therefore important that we agreed as a board and as management to start a rebuilding process.”
This rebuilding has seen United bringing in 18-year-old central defender Grant Kekana from Pretoria Tuks, 22-year-old Mario Booysens from Ajax Cape Town, veteran Botswana international Mogogi Gabonamong and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez to lay the foundation for what they believe will be a new competitive side.
Sundowns
The situation looks a little glum down Chloorkop way. Sundowns are on top of the PSL, but they have lost that swagger and the confidence that enabled them to break down teams with their bewildering passing game.
It is very hard to criticise a team that is at the summit, but reports are surfacing that all is not well in the Sundowns dressing room. It is said that there is a lot of tension and that coach Antonio López Habas has become a tough taskmaster — woe to players who fail to follow his instructions or who blunder during a game. They know the punishment will be harsh. Consequently, players are more cautious and are scared to express themselves for fear of making mistakes.
It is strange to see a team who enjoyed knocking the ball around with confidence, even arrogance, suddenly adopting an alien style, being impatient and hurrying things, with players hiding behind opponents during a game and not spreading out as they used to do.
“I do not want to sound defensive,” Alex Shakoane, Sundowns marketing director, said. “But if you look at the way we played against Chiefs, we certainly did not deserve to lose. We just lost concentration and got punished. In any case, we are still leading the race with a single point and I wonder what the fuss is all about.”
Shakoane said that even in Spain the gap between Barcelona and Real Madrid was only two points. As far as he is concerned, he said, Sundowns were not playing badly, adding that in football you need a little bit of luck.
When asked whether they blundered by fielding inexperienced Buhle Mkhwanazi and Siyabonga Ngubane in such a high pressure game while experienced players such as Surprise Moriri, Papi Zothwane and Elias Pelembe watched from the sidelines, Shakoane said it was not as though the youngsters had played badly on the day.
“For me, those boys did exceptionally well,” he said. “And if Mkhwanazi did not get injured, I wonder if Chiefs could have scored. The boy was deployed to do the dirty work and stuck to the game plan right up to the point when he was injured. It is our policy to promote deserving youngsters from our development.”
SuperSport United travel to Cape Town for a showdown against rookies Vasco da Gama on Friday and Mamelodi Sundowns welcome Maritzburg United, the team that eliminated them from the Telkom Knockout at the Lucas Moripe Stadium, on Saturday