Mamelodi Sundowns PSL Season Preview 2020/21

Mamelodi Sundowns lifted the domestic treble and a third straight league title last season. They did it despite not firing on all cylinders for most of the campaign. Ahead of this season, they were rocked by the sudden resignation of Pitso Mosimane to join Al Ahly. However, they have been very active in the transfer market. Can they win a fourth straight league title without their figurehead coach?

Recruitment

Sundowns had a quiet offseason prior to the 2019-20 campaign. They signed Mauricio Affonso and Sammy Seabi to be immediate additions to the squad. This time around, they have had a truly massive window. They spent what is likely to be upwards of R50m on eight new players in transfer fees, signings several free agents, recalling a number of loanees and likely adding a R30-40m in salaries to their annual wage bill.

With the sales of Bidvest Wits and Highlands Park, Downs swooped to pick up some of their top talents. All of Gift Motupa, Ricardo Goss and Haashim Domingo arrived from Wits (they lost out on Deon Hotto and Thulani Hlatshwayo to Pirates). Both Peter Shalulile and Mothobi Mvala were added from Highlands.

Also arriving were free agents in the shape of George Maluleka and Lesedi Kapinga. A new right-back was bought in the shape of Khuliso Mudau with Nyiko Mobbie also returning from loan at Stellenbosch FC. After chasing the player for a couple of seasons, Aubrey Modiba has finally become a Sundowns man. Grant Margeman and Jody February were two other loanees brought back into the fold.

Many of the new additions are younger players who can transition over the next year into being replacements for many of the veterans who are starting to show signs of their age. Whether many of the new signings will be regular starting XI players for this season is doubtful. The squad is now extremely bloated in the attacking positions, in goal and at right-back (and probably everywhere else too). It may mean a tough task for the coaching team to keep everyone involved and happy.

Modiba looks an excellent addition and could be set for a conversion to full-time left-back. Whilst Goss was brilliant last season for Wits and can genuinely challenge Denis Onyango for his spot right away. Upfront, both Erasmus and Shalulile should be plug-and-play options and hit the ground running. Maluleka is a reliable rotation option, but it’s not clear where every other signing will get their minutes.

Mosimane Moves On

The biggest news of the off-season has been Pitso Mosimane’s decision to move to Egypt to take over Al-Ahly. He will undoubtedly be a big loss, and how the new coaching staff functions will be fascinating. Manqoba Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena were appointed as joint head coaches. Then last week saw the shock arrival of Steve Komphela as “senior coach”. He will be third in command and perhaps a diplomatic casting vote when the head coaches can’t agree.

It is a structure almost never seen anywhere else in the world and how it functions will be intriguing. With such an enormous squad to manage, having more experienced heads won’t be a bad thing. One understated loss though is that Kabelo Rangoaga, the team’s conditioning trainer for the last six seasons, he has joined Mosimane in Egypt. He has been crucial to keeping the side fresh and free from injuries during their busy schedule.

4-2-2-2 Is The Go-To

Sundowns largely played a 4-2-2-2 shape last season, though, in reality, it’s a 4-4-2 with narrow wingers and a front two. Wider players and forwards often interchange whilst attacking fullbacks tended to provide the width. There were some changes to their midfield setup as Hlompho Kekana started to show his age and needed better managing through games. Either Sibusiso Vilakazi or Sphelele Mkhulise would drop deeper to connect the team and free up Kekana to get forward without needing to get back into shape as quickly. In some games, this was simply done with the interpretation of the players in the usual system and in others, a genuine 4-3-3 was used.

Strikers Galore

After the addition of a genuine target man in Mauricio Affonso last season to give a different option to Downs’ usual false nine setup, the club have gone and signed three more frontline strikers in this window. With Gaston Sirino and Lebohang Maboe also usually playing as part of the front two (and Thapelo Morena doing that too at times), there is now a surplus of frontmen. Youngster players like Keletso Makgalwa and Phakamani Mahlambi could suffer and may eventually need loan moves to continue their development.

The profile of strikers signed is ideal though in the case of Erasmus and Shalulile. Mobile, hard-working front players who can work the channels and make space for the creative inside forwards is crucial. Affonso had his moments in his first season (particularly a brace in the Telkom Knockout final). However, Sundowns had to change their style of play to a more crossing-heavy strategy to service him. Erasmus and Shalulile will simply fit like a glove into the current game model. Where, or if, Gift Motupa will get games if anybody’s guess and his addition is overkill.

Mamelodi Sundowns Depth Chart

There is truly incredible depth in the Sundowns squad now with three players for most positions. They also have both vastly experienced and younger options in each role. The coaching team may need to make some tough decisions in coming weeks to trim down certain areas with Anthony Laffor, Bangaly Soumahoro, Reyaad Pieterse and Tiyani Mabunda no longer offering much within their roster. Even then, Sundowns could probably loan out another six players and still be overstocked! Imagine the 11v11 matches at training… a whole team will be sat on the sidelines as substitutes. That is not ideal for squad harmony or for backup players to maintain match fitness.

The interesting questions marks will be over where someone like Aubrey Modiba features. Capable of playing on either flank, in midfield or at left-back, there is a feeling that his long-term future at a top club will be in the latter role. On the other side, Morena could move back to that position after playing most of last season further forward to give some speed to the Downs frontline. That is less needed after the signings made upfront and the emergence of Promise Mhkuma.

If Sundowns manage the squad well this season, they could reach next May with a lot less reliance on Kekana and Themba Zwane in midfield and perhaps find that players like Goss and Modiba have begun to pension off Denis Onyango and Tebogo Langerman respectively. Anele Ngcongca could still move back overseas to play in Belgium too so the team could look quite different a year from now. The future looks bright and good succession planning appears to be in place.

Verdict

When a team had just won a domestic treble and three titles in a row, and they then go and sign some of the league’s top players to bolster their squad, then the expectation is that they will retain their crown, even if Pitso Mosimane has departed.

Downs are a brilliant team tactically, building up well, carrying a threat from vertical passes from deep or interplay between the lines, and their extra pace upfront will stretch teams and further open up space in front of opposition back fours. Their additions bring youth and energy, but whether the coaching staff can find the minutes to continue the development of players like Domingo, Mvala, Margeman or Kapinga, who all need to play regularly to avoid stagnation, is the big challenge.

Really, anything less than the league title will feel like a failure after the outlay in the transfer window and due to Downs having the biggest and best squad in the DSTV Premiership by a long distance.

Prediction

Best Possible Finish: FIRST

Worst Possible Finish: SECOND