Mamelodi Sundowns could claim a record eighth consecutive Betway Premiership and nobody besides Masandawana seems to care.
All the local football coverage has been around Kaizer Chiefs’ Nedbank Cup win and Jose Riveiro departure from Orlando Pirates. In fact, Sundowns have pretty much just been a sidebar even though they have been cruising for pretty much the whole campaign.
Pirates at least put up some sort of fight in Riveiro’s last season in charge, raising hopes of a genuine league title fight. But their wheels have come off over the last two weeks after being bundled out of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals, losing in the Nedbank Cup final to Chiefs and suffering a crucial league defeat at the hands of Sekhukhune United that essentially handed the title to Sundowns.
Sundowns can still do the double, having booked their place in the CAF Champions League final against Pirates slayers Pyramids FC.
Continental glory is what they are really after, so essentially winning the league is something that they just want to get out of the way when they take on Chippa United in East London on Tuesday night, with a point good enough to get the job done.
It genuinely seems like people have become desensitised to Mamelodi Sundowns winning the league. It’s become the norm, like drinking water or going to the loo. Such has been their dominance that it genuinely seems like other clubs have given up the fight.
Probably because it’s not going to change anytime soon. Sundowns’ resources are much bigger than even the Chiefs and Pirates of this world. It’s going to expand even more following because of the massive amount of money they could earn by competing in the Club World Cup in the United States next month.
Pirates have run Sundowns close this year after finishing 13 points behind Pirates last season and 16 points in the campaign before that. Unfortunately, towards the end of the current campaign, Pirates couldn’t cope with the hectic demands of competing in multiple competitions and playing every three days. This is something Sundowns manage to do week-in and week-out.
The Buccaneers will also have to rebuild again following the departure of Riveiro, which could see them drop off the pace again if they don’t get the right man to build on the Spaniard’s foundation.
Chiefs, well, they are in a mess and it’s unlikely that they will challenge Sundowns in the near future.
Amaklhosi finished a whopping 37 points behind Sundowns last season and this season they are struggling to even make the top eight. Their Nedbank Cup final win is a huge boost for the club after a 10-year trophy drought, but that is just papering over the cracks after a dismal first season at the helm for Nasreddine Nabi.
Sundowns offered some hope to the chasing pack at the start of the campaign with a few coaching changes, including Rhulani Mokwena leaving the club. But such is their quality and depth that Miguel Cardoso’s team have still cruised home despite the attentions of Pirates.
The Premiership needs competition and it needs the Soweto giants to find a way to compete with the juggernaut that is Sundowns. But at the moment, it seems like nobody cares that Sundowns will win another league title.
@JohnGoliath82
