Inside ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’ success at Sundowns

When Mamelodi Sundowns handed over the baton to Manqoba Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena to take over from Pitso Mosimane ahead of the start of the season that just finished, there were a lot of oohs and aahs and the inclusion of Steve Komphela as a senior coach only spiked the anxiety and scepticism from Sundowns supporters and on-lookers.

Fast forward some eight months later, the trio have delivered on their promise, landing a record-extending fourth straight title, making it 11 in the Premier Soccer League crown.

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The technical team, which comprises of goalkeeper coach Wendell Robinson, is led by Mngqithi and he is more than happy that his team managed to prove doomsayers wrong.

“We wanted to paint a picture to the South African public because if the three of us failed because of egos, it would have confirmed the feelings of everyone out there that black people cannot work together. We had a deeper responsibility to do it for our black people and influence and affirm that black people have the ability to work together. All of us are coaches who can stand alone and a lot of people have questioned why we worked together,” said Mngqithi.

“In most cases we are always in agreement and when we argue, it is for the good of the team. There are times where a decision about one or two players can take an hour and for somebody else that could mean we can’t take a decision but for me, that is a sign of how frank we are and open with one another. Whatever decision we arrive at is at the back of a lot of critical thinking,” he added.

Having claimed the serial league gold medals, Mngqithi reiterated that Masandawana’s biggest goal is to win add to their one Caf Champions League title which they won in 2016 under Pitso Mosimane, whose Al-Ahly side were at the demise of Downs in this current campaign, beating them in the quarterfinals for the second year running.

“Our responsibility is not just to conquer the league because that’s almost a given. We have a bigger responsibility to compete and win the Champions League. We have the responsibility to go to the Fifa Club World Cup and compete in that space. I enjoy working with the two guys next to me, including coach Wendell and not many people talk about him.”