It is an undeniable and proven fact in football that even the most successful teams in the world go through a challenging cycle at some point. Multiple PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns find themselves in that situation, but theirs is much more complicated in a season where the Pretoria powerhouse finished the campaign without a domestic trophy, writes Daniel Mothowagae
Faced with an unforgiving fixture schedule, it was inevitable that the once-mighty Brazilians would encounter engine failure after featuring in 50 matches across all competitions in nine months.
Sundowns’ 2025\26 campaign in numbers paints a picture of a team that was stretched beyond normal, 30 Betway Premiership matches, 14 CAF Champions League duels, three MTN8, two Nedbank Cup, and one Carling Knockout Cup matches in just 11 months.
Mind you, this is a side that never really had a proper pre-season ahead of the 2025/26 campaign. Sundowns were rushed into action almost immediately after participating in the Fifa Club World Cup in the US in June last year, just weeks before the start of the PSL season in August.
The pressurised, choc-a-block fixture list did not end there for Bafana Ba Style.
At the business end of the campaign, Sundowns were forced to complete their Betway Premiership fixtures within 21 days to be ready for the CAF Champions League final against AS FAR on 17 May in Pretoria, before travelling to Morocco for the second leg on 24 May.
“I invite anyone to look at the calendar that the boys have been submitted to in the last 21 days,” Cardoso said after the loss to TS Galaxy. “After playing Esperance (twice in mid-April), we have played seven matches in 21 days. This is the fourth in a row (this month).”
This arrangement meant Sundowns were not available to play their last two Premiership matches in line with simultaneous block fixtures set out for the rest of the elite league sides for the sake of fairness.
Succumbing under pressure, Sundowns dropped points, presenting Pirates with a big chance to lift a first league title in 14 years.
The turning point
Kaizer Chiefs held Downs to a 1-1 draw in Pretoria on 6 May in a match where the home side had hoped to build on a two-point lead at the top of the Premiership log.
A 3-2 defeat to TS Galaxy in the defending champions’ final league fixture on 12 May turned the permutations in Bucs’ favour.
Cardoso acknowledged the shortfalls, saying, “In the last two matches, due to fatigue, we have exposed ourselves. We have shown holes that we have never suffered since I came to the club. It is quite unfortunate.”
One would argue that, with the club’s strong financial muscle, lack of squad depth should be the least of Sundowns’ worries—other than the overreliance on players who have played almost non-stop, such as goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, defenders Khuliso Mudau and Aubrey Modiba, midfielders Teboho Mokoena and Marcello Allende, and Tashreeq Matthews in attack.
In the end, Cardoso’s capabilities as a coach remain under serious scrutiny, especially regarding his player rotation — something that one of his predecessors, Pitso Mosimane, mastered during his tenure at Chloorkop.
How Pirates got it right
After playing second fiddle to Sundowns for the past three years, the real rebuilding process for Pirates started when the Soweto giants brought in little-known Jose Riveiro as head coach in July 2022.
The Spaniard arrived at Bucs to fill a post vacated by four coaches in the three years before his arrival.
During his three-year tenure, Riveiro steered Pirates to five knockout-competition trophies and three successive league runner-up finishes. Coaching stability has, in large part, brought the success that Pirates enjoy today.
The appointment of Abdeslam Ouaddou in July 2025 proved to be a masterstroke as an ideal replacement for Riveiro — a like-for-like substitution.
The Moroccan, who previously coached Marumo Gallants, possesses a similar demeanour to his predecessor — calm under pressure and unafraid to experiment, even when some fans wanted him out after back-to-back defeats in his opening two matches.
The delivery of the MTN8 and Carling Knockout trophies endeared Ouaddou to the Ghost.
The bedrock of Bucs’ season has been the team’s solid defence and ability to convert scoring chances, including the 5-0 hammering of Golden Arrows in Orlando in April and the 6-0 annihilation of TS Galaxy in Mbombela in March.
As it turned out, a superior goal difference stood Pirates in good stead as a backup in case they ended up equal on points with Sundowns.
Pirates also owe a large part of their impressive run to the massive contributions of newcomers Lebone Seema and Kamogelo Sebelebele (both from TS Galaxy) in defence, Oswin Appollis (from Polokwane City) and Tshepang Moremi (from AmaZulu) in attack — all supported by the experience of Sipho Chaine in goal, Deon Hotto in the backline, the trickery of Relebohile Mofokeng in midfield, and Evidence Makgopa chipping in with important goals up front.
Numbers that matter
- Pirates gave little away at the back this season, conceding just 12 goals.
- Ouaddou’s side scored 57 goals in the process, bettering the 40-plus that team averaged over the last three seasons
- In Pirates’ 3-0 win over Magesi on 9 May in Seshego, Limpopo, Bucs goalkeeper Sipho Chaine set a new PSL record with 19 clean sheets in a single season, surpassing the previous mark of 18 set by Sundowns’ Ronwen Williams in the 2022/23 campaign.
As much as conspiracy theorists would insinuate otherwise, the signs of Pirates’ resurgence as genuine Premiership title contenders were there from the onset. The Bucs finished the first half of the season at the top of the log, and only Pirates can fail themselves when the scene is set to finish the job and end the club’s 14-year league title drought. – sports@mukurukuru.co.za
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