SUN DOWNS AHLY!
A five-star performance by Sundowns. It's not every day that a team scores five past Al Ahly and the Brazilians have done that twice in the CAF Champions League. As it stands, Al Ahly are now faced with the possibility of failing to qualify for the quarterfinals, which will be deemed as failure for their current coach as we know that success for the Red Devils is based on winning the Champions League. On the other hand, for Sundowns it's great to top the group and to do so without losing a single match, but if they bow out in the quarterfinals or the semi-finals, it will be regarded as failure. I expect this Sundowns team to go all the way to the final and who knows, the second star could be loading. Watch the space.
Sundani Ratombo, Madodonga
There is nothing sweeter than winning against stubborn Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League. I believe Sundowns' win against such a big team in Africa serves as big motivation to South African football. We have to believe in ourselves and that winning the Afcon in 1996 was not by pure luck. The Brazilians are representing the nation very well. I don't know why North African countries do not give us in Southern Africa credit. I don't see Al Ahly playing in the quarterfinals this season. I wish Masandawana all the best going forward.
Terah Maqepula, Mount Fletcher
What a thrilling high-profile encounter in what was a North v South rivalry. The venue was packed to the rafters by the Yellow Nation, who were treated to a seven-goal humdinger. It was good to see Downs supporters giving Percy Tau a warm welcome. Sundowns' maturity in the CAF Champions League was evident in the game, they applied a high pressing game and did not give the Egyptians time and space on the ball. Mokoena bossed the midfield and Maema was the conductor of the orchestra. The hard-running Mailula took all the attention of the Al Ahly defence and gave space for Shalulile to manoeuvre. Just a lesson for Sundowns from the last edition of the Champions League, beating the Club of the Century is just a cherry on top, but the real challenge starts during the knockout stages where boys will be separated from men.
Gavin Ryan, Witbank Branch
Let me congratulate Sundowns for the job well done against Al Ahly. It was a game worth watching. I would like to see Mokoena taking those long-range shots from a distance. He must not shy away from doing that as it proved to work against Al Ahly. I couldn't hold my excitement after he scored that stunner. I also thought it was going to sail above the crossbar. The Yellow Nation made my weekend. Congrats to the guys once again.
Jimmy Thomas, Elliot, Eastern Cape
Al Ahly are on a downward spiral since coach Pitso left and I must say I am so excited. Their so-called legends never respected "Jingles" despite his huge success during a short space of time. They even failed to defend his bronze during the FIFA Club World Cup and also not forgetting the league title. Sundowns drew with them in Cairo recently and that was a friendly warning that the visitors were going to leave Loftus Versfeld with tails between their legs. Congrats to Ka Bo Yellow for reminding Al Ahly that they are now an ordinary team. How the mighty have fallen!
Amos "Tiger" Tshukudu, Ga-Maria
Congrats to Sundowns and Gallants for their impressive CAF competition wins against Al Ahly and USM Alger respectively. The two PSL clubs are cruising in said tournaments. Gallants have been doing exceedingly well, particularly, such that no one believed that they could outclass the Algerian. Their 'underdog' tag worked well for them, thus they played without any pressure. Our limited expectations of them have given them an enormous advantage. Meanwhile, when it comes to silky Sundowns, we are short of befitting superlatives to describe the performance against Ahly. The Brazilians outplayed the Egyptian giants in both legs. The embattled former CAF Champions League winners are now on the brink of elimination after the disgraceful defeat. Rhulani and his technical department have turned Downs into one of the most formidable teams on the continent. Interestingly, the Brazilians have developed a three-fold tactic with which they press, pass and run with or without the ball – Man City type of play. They have a great chance of clinching the CAF Champions League, if only they keep up the momentum.
Batsirai Kativu, Johannesburg
Congrats to Sundowns for the great job against Al Ahly, a great game indeed. I was impressed by the supporters who came in numbers to cheer the team on. However, I was shocked to see a certain group of fans booing Percy Tau before the game. The boy has done nothing wrong to us and such behaviour cannot be tolerated. He is still one of us. To score five goals against Al Ahly isn't easy, but we did it again. My plea to Rhulani is to review Modiba's game. He was the weakest link and I believe we made a big mistake by letting Lakay go. On a different note, it's unfortunate that one of the best-performing players, Maema, has not made the preliminary squad announced by coach Hugo Broos. He's been scoring and assisting. What more should the poor boy do? Neo, chin up, your time will come, there's nothing wrong with your performance.
Tente "The Brains" Mokoka, Sepharane
Sundowns' win and dominance over Al Ahly in recent seasons shows they have finally cracked the code of defeating Africa's Club of the Century. They need to do the same to Wydad Casablanca to win the CAF Champions League.
Akhona Ndletyana, Cape Town
Congrats to both Chiefs and Pirates for progressing to the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup. Both Soweto giants had to sweat for their respective wins. Let us also take our hats off for Sundowns for teaching Al Ahly some football lesson. The Tshwane giants seem to be more than prepared to win the CAF Champions League for a second time, which would be very uplifting for the whole of South Africa. The performance displayed by Percy Tau was great.
Sphelele Shozi, Dududu, Ward 19
UNCONVINCING BUCS
At times, it is really worrying how our coach applies his game plan on the day of the game. Against Venda Football Academy, was there any need to play Mako as a right back and Hotto as a left back? If I may ask, why was Martin signed? Why was Monyane not in the starting line-up? This is called a David vs Goliath type of a competition, but there was no need to struggle against VFA as they are struggling in the Motsepe Foundation Championship. The coach is exposing himself where there's no need, and if he continues like this, the Ghost will be on his case because he is not convincing at all. Once and Always, I remain.
Happy Monakhisi, Mohlabaneng Village
Condolences to Mr. Dejan Miladinovic's family. In the space of three years, we've now lost three superfans in our Ghost ship. It started with Mgijimi, then "Mr 5 Skippers" and now it's Dejan! It's so sad losing such influential figures and may their souls rest in eternal peace. Coming back to our Nedbank Cup game against Venda FA, we started well and showed hunger to win, attacking from all angles. However, as the game progressed, our players started to take the foot off the pedal. Saleng failed to rise to the occasion this time, but we can't fault him because every team we play against plans their game around him. Lorch is coming back nicely, but I'm still not certain that we'll still be having him around next season. I still don't understand the logic of using Mako as a right fullback because every time he receives the ball, he's always facing our goalposts and always shifts inside to accommodate his left foot. The boy can't pass using his right foot and most of the teams have taken note of that. We've got Shandu and Monyane as our right wingbacks, but our technical team is always doing the unthinkable and that's why we are always conceding soft goals. Come on, Bucs, you can do much better than that! Lastly, I thought Mr Sandile Zungu of AmaZulu FC was knowledgeable about football, but now I can safely say he's clueless. He awarded Fohloza a three-year contract to dismantle his club. With this kind of a coach, they'll be relegated come next season. Usuthu were playing good football, but now they are playing badly, with the coach even benching their best players. Sooner or later, Fohloza will be a goner.
Sibusiso Khumalo, Melmoth, KZN
Riveiro is going to cost us. Anyone can see that Saleng deserved to be substituted at half-time against Venda Football Academy. Also, Timm is ordinary, but people just praise him. As for Ndlondlo, truth be told, this guy is not serious. He thinks we are at the Philly's Games. He doesn't play to win, he just plays because he is in the first XI. A lot of things are not going well. Sibisi is ordinary. In conclusion, the coach is not good. We need to look for a coach that can compete with Sundowns, not this one.
Stephen Mpya, Mamphulo village
I appeal to the coach and technical staff never to substitute the following players in all games: Saleng, Erasmus, Ndlondlo and Lorch. Besides being quality players, they are the pillars of the Bucs squad. The players I've mentioned should be included in the starting line-up. They should be given sufficient game-time – i.e. 90 minutes. For better results, these players should be included game after game. For the last two months, we've been humiliated enough. Consider consistent players in every game. At all times or games, the technical staff should consider players with good composure. Never again should quality players in the game be ignored. I hope next season we'll be having a solid squad. Good luck.
Themba Jama, KZN
QUICK ONE-TWO'S
This is an open letter to the chairman of the PSL and its board of directors for the next DStv Premiership season: 1) Find another/a second sponsorship for the League to assist DStv as the clubs' monthly grant (R2.3 million) is too little. A second sponsor will enable clubs to run smoothly and pay their players on time. 2) The PSL should assist clubs with regards to looking for sponsorships (or let agents be allowed to look and negotiate sponsorships for clubs). 3) The League must not have control or restrict a club when it comes to which sponsors they must have. Look at Vodacom, they sponsor Chiefs and Pirates, but Swallows were not allowed to have Telkom as their sponsor. Why? That didn't make sense at all. 4) Sit down with the sponsors (MTN, Black Label, Nedbank and DStv) and request an increase on competition prize money. It's been more than a decade since the prize money for all competitions changed. 5) Find a permanent CEO for the PSL now, it's time for a change. 6) PSL needs to make sure all clubs have women's teams. This must be non-negotiable. I believe if all these factors are considered, we might have a very, very competitively strong league, where clubs can be very sustainable, just the way it's supposed to be.
Mncedisi Ntlungu, Umtata
I can't comprehend the name changes of clubs every season, not to mention the buying and selling of clubs. I find it ridiculous that the PSL can just allow this to happen every season. Most of the second-tier teams have changed their names, then you still have to figure out which province do they actually come from? Would this happen in Egypt, Morocco, DRC, Algeria? I doubt that because these leagues have their roots built into their clubs! And we're supposed to be the best league in Africa. We are more like Eskom – just on and off!!
Dominic "Domma" Van Wyk, via email
If the rumours doing the rounds that Rhulani is on the radar of Al Ahly and Wydad of Morocco are true, it would be a great achievement for him. He will be putting not only Sundowns on the map but the South African football fraternity at large. He would also be the second coach from Sundowns, in recent times, to have gone beyond Mzansi shores to coach a team of that magnitude in Africa. I'm a Chiefs fan, but I'm saying this without fear or favour, Sundowns have proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are the best team in this country when it comes to producing the best coaches. How I wish that Chiefs and Pirates can follow suit.
Shimpala Ndzombane, Stellenbosch
I think Hugo Broos should just swallow his pride and select players on merit and most of those players are from Sundowns. Bafana Bafana is not a place to build, we want results instantly. Yes, we want hungry youngsters in our squad, but he needs to learn how to blend them with the experienced ones. We need leaders on the field, we need people who will take responsibility on the field and go for the kill if need be. Most of those youngsters are afraid to do so. Players like Williams, Mudau, De Reuck, Mokoena, Mailula, Modiba and Zwane should start the game and there's no debate about that. His hatred towards certain players or a certain club is not allowed in our squad. The old man should do the right thing and select the strongest squad.
Tau Tona Molebatsi, Ivory Park
![JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - NOVEMBER 08: Bafana B](https://cdn.soccerladuma.co.za/News/278492/a6a826e8fdf54e3ab34a5ed5fa29f06d.jpg "JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - NOVEMBER 08: Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos during the South Africa mens national soccer team squad announcement press conference at SABC Studios on November 08, 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images),sµÙgö\")
I read an article where Clifford Mulenga was analysing Kambole's stint at Chiefs and why he struggled. He alleges it was because of the language barrier, where some players would talk to him in IsiZulu or Sotho. Load of bull! How many Zambian players played for Chiefs, successfully so? Think Nyirenda and Mbesuma. Did they understand IsiZulu or Sotho when they arrived in the country? Mulenga, you're out of line, brother. A bad carpenter always blames his tools. Are you assuming that South African players have a beef against players from Zambia because surely players from Zimbabwe understand IsiZulu? Your accusation is baseless and unfounded.
Lekiya Magoai, Nelly (Ga-Malope)
Usuthu lost against a so-called 'small team' in the Nedbank Cup and now I'm waiting for Mr Sandile Zungu to fire this small boy who knows nothing about South African football.
Moeti Lerato Richard, Qwa-Qwa, Free State
Chaba re fete are living up to their motto. Two PSL teams moved over and they have passed. This team makes a competition like the Nedbank Cup enjoyable. Dondol Stars are not having it easy, yet they are holding their own against the best. It's difficult not to talk about error-prone Chiefs. Yet again, they let in a soft goal and failed to convert easy chances. Shabalala, what a fantastic player! His awareness, vision and game intelligence are ahead. He showed dummies a few times that led into dangerous attacks and players around him only need to understand him better. The problem is that the technical team doesn't remind him of the importance of putting the team first. Against Arrows, he could have laid off a pass for Saile to score and put the game beyond reach. Against Casric Stars, he could have laid the ball off to Dolly and get an assist. These are marginal errors at crucial moments in the game that he should be taught. I've seen enough of the "experienced" Hlanti. Our left side is imbalanced and I believe Dove, with his aggression, could help solve that. TS Galaxy and Stellies, was that a penalty shootout result? Phew!
Lucky Khunou, Meriting
Congrats, Amakhosi, for advancing to the quarter-finals of the Nedbank Cup. I must admit that Chiefs and Pirates sweated for their victories against Motsepe Foundation Championship teams. Kudos to all the teams that reached the Last 8. Not forgetting two teams, Sundowns and Gallants, who continue to raise our South African flag high in continental competitions. My brotherly advice for you is to aim for the moon so that when you fall, you must fall amongst the stars. The sky is the limit! Zwane's dream is still very much alive and Chiefs can win this Nedbank Cup. Yes, I believe.
Boitumelo Vanrooyen, Schweizer-Reneke
I read with disappointment the article in our Wednesday soccer Bible of two weeks ago that Chiefs failed to sign Mdantsane at the last minute for reasons only known to them. Even worse, the Citizens had blessed the player's move to Naturena. Maybe someone out there needs to inform 'that official' at Chiefs that for our team to claim its glory days back, players like Mdantsane are needed. I hope we are not looking at getting him for free. I believe Amakhosi should move away from that stage of waiting for free agents as teams are grabbing all quality players right under our noses. On another note, it's so good that the Big Three have progressed to the Last 8 of the Nedbank Cup. Having said so, they need to be very careful of the so-called small teams like your Dondol Stars FC. Lastly, I think Zwane will get Chiefs right, given time. Thus far, he has somehow managed to get the team to gel even though it's work in progress.
Mompati Panyaza Ndlovu, Lekubu village, Zeerust
