Sundowns keep their focus with a domestic ‘vat alles’ very much in play

Kaizer Chiefs might have famously run with the ‘Operation Vat Alles’ theme some seasons ago, but the fact is that no side has ever managed to win every domestic trophy on offer in the Premier Soccer League era. 

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After recording five straight league titles and with the MTN8 already in the bag, Mamelodi Sundowns have their sights set on achieving what has always seemed impossible (though it is made easier by the absence of a Telkom Knockout), as they aim to capture the Nedbank Cup. 

The capital city outfit are in KwaZulu-Natal to face flamboyant side Royal AM in the Nedbank Cup semifinals this evening, but Downs co-head coach Rhulani Mokwena, in a rather diplomatic tone, says his team are not thinking about the possibility of winning a treble.

“How many times has that been done in South Africa? It is a very difficult achievement, so we don’t speak about it, we just try to win every single match in front of us and if that is good enough to give us three trophies then all we can do is thank the football gods for that blessing,” said Mokwena.

“What we can control is the performance, and what we get out of it is what the universe decides.” 

“There are times where we won only the league title and did not win any other trophies. We all know how difficult it is for us to win the MTN8 and we have delivered that this season. 

“With that perspective, this season is already a better season than last season because we have two trophies on the table. We’ve made improvements and we can do better,” he added.

The Brazilians are still licking their wounds from an embarrassing Caf Champions League quarterfinal exit. One of their players, Lyle Lakay, said before the game against Petro Atletico at FNB Stadium that failing to win the so-called holy grail would spell out a disappointing season for him, but his coach disagrees.

” In the cup, you need a good run of a few matches and you need some luck as well but in the league, you won’t win it if you don’t have the necessary consistency. One or two bad results are alright but you need to be at your best. With that, you need to put a little bit of respect to the work that these players have done, to be able to do what we have done,” said Mokwena.