With Mamelodi Sundowns sitting comfortably at the top of the PSL standings, actress Leera Mthethwa feels this title is the Tshwane side's to lose.
Soccer Laduma spoke to the actress about her love for the two clubs in Pretoria, Sundowns and SuperSport United.
Talk to us about the club you support.
I am originally from Pretoria and I stand fully behind the teams in Pretoria. I was raised in a home of Mamelodi Sundowns and my late father was a firm supporter of that. Then SuperSport United also came about. One of our family friends was affiliated with the club at an executive level, so I would say anything Pretoria based. Those are the teams I follow. The last time I watched a Sundowns game live was at Loftus around March this year.
What can you remember about the love your late father had for Sundowns?
My dad was an avid supporter. He would go to the stadium and if he could not make it during the week, he would make means to watch the game. Some of the best highlights were the moments of frustration, weirdly, when the game is not going the way it's supposed to go. It spoke volumes about when you really love something and you support it, it speaks about your passion. The frustration and disappointment when things are not going well speaks to how much you love it. That's where I drew my passion as a human being from, that when you really love and want something, it hurts and it's okay. The DSTV Premiership is trying to run activation so that stadiums can get full and that we can get excited again for this beautiful game. That we bring back the support of the game and we get off our phones and we actually spend time watching the physical thing.
Was he the type to collect Sundowns jerseys?
I think because of the affiliation with SuperSport, he would get merchandise. I remember at some point he had tracksuits of both SuperSport and Sundowns. He was heavy on the merchandise. He was a merchandise guy, like the caps and tracksuits.
Do you have any favourite players?
The last favourite players I had, and this is going to reveal my age, were guys like Brian Baloyi, Matthew Booth and Doctor Khumalo who will always be there. in recent years, someone like Teko Modise stood out. Itumeleng Khune is also on the list as well.
Who do you think is going to win the league?
You know who will win it. Just look at the (Premiership) table. It explains itself. We are used to winning the league. The log is very clear. We've only played 11 games and other teams have played 14 games. We don't have a draw and we don't have a loss. We have 11 wins. Undefeated. The Premiership is Sundowns' to lose.
