Why Sundowns have not been dominant this season

By their own standards, Mamelodi Sundowns can admit that their start to this season has not been their greatest, even though they find themselves in a respectable position on the DStv Premiership table.

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Bafana Ba Style have also recently qualified for the Caf Champions League group stages and stand a chance to reach the MTN8 final for a second year running if they beat Orlando Pirates on Saturday.

Hlompho Kekana, who enjoyed much success with the Brazilians as their captain, says part of the challenge at Chloorkop is that the team is trying to compete on many fronts.

This is not a new phenomenon at Downs though, but the slight change in the style of play and new personnel – who are not used to the demands of a side like Masandawana – puts the spanner in the works for coaches, Kekana reckons.

“It is not going to be an overnight thing, it will take some time and they are working on it. I am sure they are going to use this tournament to try and work on some formations and combinations,” said Kekana.

“Sundowns are trying to multi-task in so many tournaments and they don’t play the same formation that they played in previous matches and the personnel is changing. That can easily make the team not jell as it is supposed to. They are trying to find combinations that will last them for the duration of the season because it is going to be a long season,” he added.

If the former Sundowns skipper was to write a book about his glittery career, one can already guess that “Gonzalez” will list the Champions League as one of his proudest achievements, which is why he understands Masandawana’s desire to reach the final again after winning it in 2016.

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“This time around they want to go for the kill in the Champions League and they want to win the league here at home. The main goal at this moment is to try and go to the final of the Champions League and that is why they keep changing the personnel in the team,” he said.

Kekana added: “It is a difficult formation for players especially when it is new and you find yourself in a team like Sundowns where every match is a cup final. I am sure that the players are ready for the task and they will try to win the matches.”