Kaizer Chiefs v Mamelodi Sundowns is no rivalry right now – just look at the trophies
And yet, if too many coaching cooks at Mamelodi Sundowns could turn them into a bit of a watered down soup this season, then Gavin Hunt's mastery of tactics in the PSL could yet be the final ingredient that brings glory back to Chiefs.
Gaston Sirino scored the winner against Chiefs in August and Sundowns have been sprinting away from Amakhosi with their trophy haul in recent years. Pic: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns will meet on Saturday in a game that sticks out like a sore thumb on the opening weekend of the 2020/21 DStv Premiership season.
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The two sides went neck-and-neck for the title last season, with Sundowns topping the table for the only, and yet the most important time, in the entire campaign, when they beat Black Leopards and Kaizer Chiefs could only draw with Baroka, the Brazilians snatching the title of domestic champions for a third successive season.
It was a situation embarrassing enough for Chiefs, who had led the standings for most of the season, for them to sack head coach Ernst Middendorp, and his assistant Shaun Bartlett, with Gavin Hunt the latest man tasked with ending a trophy drought that has lasted five whole seasons.
In that time, Sundowns have won EIGHT trophies, one Caf Champions League, four Absa Premiership titles, a Telkom Knockout, a Nedbank Cup and the Caf Super Cup.
With this in mind, it is easy to question whether this titanic clash is actually a major rivalry at all any more. Right now Sundowns are the dominant force in the domestic game, and Chiefs are just one of the other interested parties, desperately searching for a piece of the trophy pie.
This is in stark contrast to Chiefs’ success in South African football’s popularity contest – they are by a long way the best-loved team in South Africa, a testament to the work put in by Kaizer Motaung and his family since he founded the club in the 1970s.
And yet the dominance of Sundowns these days has to grate in the corridors of Naturena. It has been close if you look at the head-to-head league stats in the last five seasons. Sundowns have beaten Chiefs four times, Chiefs have beaten Sundowns three times and there have been three draws. And yet, the dust continues to gather in the Chiefs trophy cabinet while Sundowns’ must be bursting at the seams.
Yet this season could yet represent a chance for Chiefs to snap that trophy duck and leave Sundowns trailing in their wake, starting on Saturday. In Hunt, Amakhosi have their very own trophy machine, who has won four league titles of his own.
Sundowns, meanwhile, have lost Pitso Mosiumane to Al Ahly, and appear to have been so unsure of who to put in the hot seat in his place, that they have gone for three coaches. It wasn’t a good look as they lost to Bloemfontein Celtic in the MTN8 on Sunday, and while Sundowns have signed another bus-load of players, they, like Manqoba Mngqithi, Steve Komphela and Rulani Mokwena, could take time to gel.
Chiefs have their own problems, with a Fifa transfer ban stopping them from signing anyone, pending an appeal, but on the other hand they have a settled squad, that were inches away from success last season. Hunt has already made the point that a side that was 20 minutes away from the league can’t be that bad.
If too many cooks at Mamelodi Sundowns could turn them into a bit of a watered down soup this season, then Hunt’s mastery of tactics in the PSL could yet be the final ingredient that brings glory back to Chiefs. And my how they could do with such a lift.
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