Mabunda lauds Sundowns quality, questions who will stop them

Mamelodi Sundowns has been so relentless and dominant this season that club legend Tiyani Mabunda can’t see who is going stop the reigning DStv Premiership champions.

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The Brazilians who sit 11 points clear at the top of the log standings are seemingly strolling to a record-extending seventh league title in a row.

There’s no hiding from the fact that Rulani Mokwena has the cream of the crop when it  talent at his disposal that many of his peers can only dream of.

Mabunda is in awe of the record-breaking champions who are now unbeaten in 40 league games from last season.

“I saw the substitutes that came on in the previous game. You take out (Teboho) Mokwena to put in Sipho Mbule, take out Aubrey Modiba to put in Bathusi Aubaas and you take out Gaston Sirino for Thembinkosi Lorch. Are you serious my friend and who’s going to stop that?” Mabunda questioned in a recent Sundowns pitchside podcast episode.

“This is the 70th minute and you are bringing in players who are easily starting for the national team and easily starters anywhere else. As an opponent, how do you stop that? It tells you that even how you manage the players and to keep them excited is important. I saw Lorch making those runs and it tells you that these players are happy.”

The club’s new signings Matias Esquivel, Zuko Mdunyelwa and Lorch have also hit the ground running.

There’s a school of thought that it must be a walk in the park to coach a Sundowns team that is dazzling with so much quality. Mabunda, however, doesn’t agree with the notion that the star-studded team makes Mokwena’s job easier.

“It tells you the quality the club has and it’s not easy to play for Mamelodi Sundowns. If you find players with such a quality fitting into the system. It didn’t make sense when the club was signing all these superstars and bringing them together,” he added.

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“But you also need to take your hat off to coach Rulani and his technical team for having so many talented players. Being able to keep them grounded is not an easy thing because all of them know their qualities and they know they can easily go to any other team and be a starter.

“There must be something that the technical team is doing right to make sure that all of them feel a part of the team. You have to appreciate the likes of Divine Lunga and Lebo Maboe who is a silent killer and has so many assists. I saw in one press conference where he said that he feels much stronger than before he had an operation and you can see it in his game.”