SAZI HADEBE | Instead of gawping in awe of Sundowns, other clubs should learn a thing or two

We’ve been here before and I guess we’ll continue having this debate for years. I’m talking about Mamelodi Sundowns’ never-ending player acquisition.

Just when we thought the Brazilians were done buying players for the 2022-23 campaign, we learnt on Wednesday that they’ve added Cape Town City left-back Terence Mashego to their booming squad.

Many were expecting to hear the opposite, the release of some of the players that are seemingly surplus to requirements at Sundowns. Those include strikers Kermit Erasmus and Gift Motupa. 

It doesn’t look like the pair will get any time on the field soon given the number of forwards the Brazilians have on their books for the season.

But with a couple of days left before the PSL’s transfer window closes on Tuesday, perhaps there’s still time for Erasmus and Motupa to be sold or loaned out. It goes without saying that it doesn’t help Erasmus, 32, and Motupa, 27, to be sitting in the stands at this stage of their careers.

If we go back to Mashego’s story of joining Sundowns, you may feel right in thinking that Sundowns are overloaded in the left-back position. Sundowns already have regulars in Lyle Lakay and the versatile Aubrey Modiba at left-back, with Sifiso Ngobeni as their understudy.

I would think Mashego, who we don’t know will join Sundowns now or in January, can only have a chance to play if Ngobeni is loaned somewhere just as Sundowns did with their other left-back Divine Lunga, who was sent back on loan to his former club Lamontville Golden Arrows after struggling to get game time last season.

People talk of Sundowns’ dominance in the PSL where they’ve already won 12 league titles in less than 30 seasons and five in the last five seasons. This is mainly because of how they profile the players that they bring into the club.

It’s important when we look at Sundowns’ buying spree that we carefully view their whole squad. Players such as Modiba play in more than one position, and when that happens you need that player who’s been brought in specifically to play at left-back. And with Sundowns we always see this happening, not just in one position.

In total Sundowns have about 37 players registered for this season, and they would probably need 30 or 32, given the number of competitions they’re normally involved in. Motupa and Erasmus are certainly looking like the first ones on the list of those who should be released.

There are central midfielders such as Ricardo Coetzee and Lebohang Maboe, who we haven’t seen this season for various reasons that include injuries. But can we say they’re no longer needed at Sundowns simply because in their places we’ve seen players such as Mothobi Mvala, Teboho Mokoena and Sipho Mbule?

Perhaps not, because in Coetzee and Maboe you have versatility just as with Modiba. Maboe can be an attacking midfield and can also play a defensive role in midfield. Coetzee is comfortable playing in central defence, though we’ve seen Sundowns playing him mostly in the midfield, where Andile Jali is a regular at the moment.

The list of Sundowns players who can feature in more than one position is endless, and I think that could be a source of confusion when they buy a player.

People should not view Sundowns’ buying as buying for the sake of buying as many clubs do in the Premier Soccer League. They usually look at whether a player can offer them cover in more than one position.

At the moment the one place you might feel Sundowns needs cover could be at right-back, where they have only Thapelo Morena and Khuliso Mudau. Morena has been used as an attacker in a number of matches by Sundowns, but you wonder what will happen if both he and Morena were out injured or suspended. It doesn’t usually happen at Sundowns, but in football you can never rule anything out.   

People talk of Sundowns’ dominance in the PSL where they’ve already won 12 league titles in less than 30 seasons and five in the last five seasons. This is mainly because of how they profile the players they bring into the club.

Each and every position has more than two players, usually. In central midfield, where they normally play two players per game, they have, for instance, Jali, Mokoena, Mvala, Coetzee, Bongani Zungu and Mbule, but on top of that they have Sphelele Mkhulise and Maboe, who are listed as attacking players. 

In Mokoena and Mbule you get two positions in one players because they can play as attacking players — and that’s the kind of profile that helps Sundowns remain a cut above the rest in the PSL.

In attack, things can be confusing if you want to label a Sundowns striker. Many Sundowns strikers are actually attacking midfielders who can play on the left, middle and right as they constantly change their positioning throughout the game.

Themba Zwane is the epitome of a player who fits the profile of how Sundowns want their attacking players to play. He’s never in one position but is always looking to create a goal wherever he is. Neo Maema is slowly but surely taking over from Zwane in that special role.

Do Sundowns have an outright striker? Only one, and he’s a real sharpshooter, Peter Shalulile. That’s a player Motupa and Erasmus should be competing with, but they’ve struggled to do that in the past two seasons.

The main role of all the attacking players at Sundowns, be it the two new attackers, Nasir Ahmed and Marcelo Allende, is to feed Shalulile, but they must also take their chances if the situation allows.

The other strikers who compete with Shalulile for the No.9 jersey are Lesedi Kapinga and Thabiso Kutumela. They’ve hardly had game time though they’re not bad players at all.

So one of the reasons we see Sundowns dominating the PSL season in season out is their superior profiling of prospective players. But it is also what Sundowns do with most of the players they sign, getting them to play in more than one position.

The other 15 PSL teams should not only watch in awe as Sundowns dominate, but also learn.