Mamelodi Sundowns are evolving the way they operate off the pitch, writes Nick Said.
Mamelodi Sundowns cantered to an eighth Betway Premiership title in a row in the 2024/25 season, but even as the curtain fell on that campaign, there were signs that their veil of invincibility was being lifted.
An African Champions League final defeat to Egyptian side Pyramids, when Sundowns were heavy favourites to lift the trophy, was a deep psychological blow to the club, perhaps only softened by the thought of their appearance in the Club World Cup directly afterwards.
Coach Miguel Cardoso survived that setback, as well as defeats in the MTN8 to Orlando Pirates and in the Carling Knockout against lowly Marumo Gallants this campaign, perhaps successfully arguing they are a club in transition.
After 10 games in the Betway Premiership, Sundowns had 21 points, not a bad haul, but their lowest at that stage of the campaign in six seasons.
It all paints the picture of a club once so dominant and seemingly untouchable that has begun to show frailties.
Cardoso can also point to the loss of Brazilian striker Lucas Ribeiro, who effectively walked out of the club after tearing up his contract when he was not allowed a big-money move to Qatar.
It was almost unheard of in the game but appears, for now, to be legally justified, though that will likely be tested in the courts.
Whatever the outcome, to lose a player who contributed 21 goals and 14 assists in the last campaign is a massive blow on the pitch.
To lose him for nothing is devastating off it. Playmaker Nuno Santos arrived for R20 million from Vitória Guimarães in Portugal, while his compatriot Miguel Reisinho came on a free transfer from Boavista.
Both look like good additions. Bafana Bafana left-back Fawaaz Basadien was brought in from Stellenbosch, and winger Tsiki Ntsabeleng arrived on loan from FC Dallas in Major League Soccer.
That was it for the new arrivals at the club, as Cardoso also looks to trim the size of his squad, unhappy at having too many players not active in the first team, a situation that can create discord behind the scenes.
Sixteen players left the club at the start of this season, either permanently or on loan, and while many were on the fringes of selection, bar Ribeiro, that is still a high turnover of players.
“It is intentional to reduce the numbers, and we will do it together,” Cardoso told reporters.
“It is not only my opinion on how to reduce the squad; it is our opinion. How we are going to do it and which number you are going to see has to do with different aspects.
“In South Africa, the squad will never be the same squad that you will have in Europe. In Portugal, it is usually 22 players and four goalkeepers, then you have the second team where you can pick the squad if you want.
“The squads here are bigger, and that is the reality that I understand from competing in South Africa. The team will be smaller than last time, for sure. But we will not be as small as teams in Portugal.
“We need to have enough level of competition in case we have an injury or a player who is not so strong, or to manage players, we have to have numbers. At the same time, we cannot have players who are permanently not used.”
“This drops their motivation, and that is the spirit we don’t want in the club. We want our players to feel like they have a chance to play regularly.”
How quickly Cardoso can adjust his players to the way he wants to play, and whether a smaller squad will cope with the demands of a long season that is, in many ways, compacted by the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, remains to be seen.
But he is certainly expecting a much bigger fight in the league this season than they have had in previous years.
“I remember I predicted at the PSL launch event [in August] that this championship would have a different story,” Cardoso said. He has also repeatedly rebuffed criticism that he is a defensive coach and has taken the old ‘Shoeshine & Piano’ attacking flair out of the team.
“Despite people saying, ‘You coach, you are defensive’, that’s bulls**t. It’s not true. We always want to bring that energy to win the match.”
“For Sundowns, it seems like it is never enough. If we defeat a team by scoring five goals, it is because the opposition is weak, so it really is never enough.”
“We are held to a higher standard, but that’s a good thing.”
Cardoso has also leaned on young players this season, with six aged 21 or younger used in the league campaign by the start of November.
Players such as 18-year-old Siyabonga Mabena, 19-year-old Kutlwano Letlhaku, and 21-year-old Malibongwe Khoza have been used regularly, and not just there to make up the numbers.
Opposing coaches also see the depth in the squad and what Cardoso is trying to do, such as Sekhukhune United tactician Eric Tinkler, one of the more experienced mentors in the PSL.
“Even when they go through a rough patch, that rough patch is not a rough patch,” Tinkler said.
“To say that they’re going through a bad spell, I find that difficult to believe.”
“They’ve got a lot of quality, and I still think they are favourites to win the league because of the depth that they have in their squad. My job as a coach is to close that gap.
“That’s the objective, and I said at the beginning of the season that we can close that gap, and ensure that we start collecting more points to make life a little bit more difficult for Sundowns.”
