Lorch reveals Sundowns admiration  

Thembinkosi Lorch might have tasted DStv Premiership success for the first time in his career but the love affair with Mamelodi Sundowns began long before he even joined the team. The Brazilians signed the popular midfielder in the January transfer window from rivals Orlando Pirates to bolster their attacking options.

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The 30-year-old hit the ground running in the colours of Sundowns since his blockbuster move to Chloorkop six months ago. He finished the season with six goals in 20 appearances across all competitions.

After eight years with the Soweto giants, his departure didn’t sit well with the Buccaneers faithful who stood by him through his well-documented run-in with the law. The former PSL Footballer of the Season sat down with Masandawana’s pitchside podcast to reflect on his time at the club.

“The guys welcomed me well in the team and they made me feel at home and so far I’m happy as I’ve said that I came to Sundowns knowing what I want. The first thing that I wanted was to win the league and the champions league,” he said.

“Now, I’m left with winning the champions league. When I was at Pirates, I followed the guys and checked how they do things, the brotherhood that they have, the way they love each other and I saw myself here so it was easy for me to gel with the guys after I joined the team.”

Lorch missed the latter part of last season due to an injury and watched last month’s Nedbank Cup final loss to his former team Pirates from the sidelines. He is still wearing a protective moon boot on his right foot and it’s not yet clear when he will return to action when the new season gets underway.

“To be honest, I’m happy to see that Thembinkosi is loved and it motivates me to keep working even harder,” Lorch concluded.

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“I’m proud that I’m still relevant and I’m working hard and I’m happy at Mamelodi Sundowns because they are a team that I’ve been admiring from afar. They play the champions league every season so that’s one thing that I’m proud of by joining a team like Mamelodi Sundowns.”