A look at stars set to leave the cushy Sundowns bench

The club may not have made an official announcement, but all indications are that Haashim Domingo, Gift Motupa and Ricardo Goss will definitely don the colours of Masandawana next season.

Those players, alongside Grant Margeman, are surely under no illusion that they will walk into Mosimane’s team, as that is hardly the case seeing that players like Aubrey Ngoma, Ali Meza and Sammy Seabi are still knocking on the door. These players might not feature at all for Downs seeing how small a role they played since their arrival at Chloorkop.

Mosimane usually plays with a false striker, or a false No 9 if you like, and that is because the only natural striker that he had has spent most of his time in the casualty room instead of on the pitch. Mauricio Affonso has played 14 games since arriving about a year ago, and perhaps his best performance was when he scored a brace to help Sundowns to the Telkom Knockout when they beat Maritzburg United 2-1 last December.

Gift Motupa would come in handy for “Jingles” in the usual event that Affonso is nursing a niggling injury or something to that degree. Supporting Motupa would be the attacking wizard and skillful Gaston Sirino. The Uruguayan would assume the No 10 role, while Themba Zwane’s position is quite a complicated one – Mosimane once said Zwane is difficult to pin to a position because he is so good an attacker.

Fans often get fed-up when a player does not perform to their satisfaction and one Lebohang Maboe is such a player, who received a lot of backlash from the Masandawana faithful. With Domingo and faster and seemingly more productive attackers, Maboe’s role in the team appears to be at risk, while a player like Phakamani Mahlambi could also find himself out in the cold. Mahlambi has never been much of a starter for Mosimane and if “Jingles'” new look attack does well, Mahlambi may be reduced to just a rotation player.

Another player who is heavily at risk is Tiyani Mabunda. For most of the season, “Shuga” has been reserved as a backup for captain Hlompho Kekana and Andile Jali. The duo have been doing well this season and the introduction of Margeman could relegate Mabunda to the stands while the youngster takes his place on the bench.

Kennedy Mweene could effectively move down the pecking order and be the third-choice goalkeeper at Downs behind Denis Onyango, who is expected to remain as the club’s first choice ahead of the incoming Goss. Where does this leave Reyaad Pieterse? Well, the former Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United goalie could well be on his way out, or will remain at the team as the fourth choice behind Goss and Mweene.

In the rear-guard, Wayne Arendse might have been rewarded with a contract extension but he is unlikely to play more than 15 domestic games, unless, of course, the likes of Motjeka Madisha, Mosa Lebusa, and Ricardo Nascimento were to find themselves injured. Arendse once revealed to Phakaaathi that while he would love to play every game, he is content with his contribution.

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