Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi can be irresistibly melodramatic, and this characteristic again came to the fore ahead of tomorrow’s feature Premiership match against Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium (3pm kick-off).
Last week, Mngqithi spoke about the “scary prospect” of facing eSwatini visitors Mbabane Swallows, even though Sundowns scored a crushing 4-0 win in a clash a few days earlier.
The Brazilians – even without several regulars – again won 4-0 to close out an 8-0 aggregate for this CAF Champions League preliminary tie.
Now Mngqithi has referred to Chiefs as a “really a big force in South African football”, even though the famous club has not won a trophy in nine seasons.
Towards the end of last season, these two teams played a league match at Soccer City, and Sundowns won 5-1.
Chiefs have won their opening two league games this season, but it was far from convincing. In their opener, the Amakhosi defeated 10-man Marumo Gallants in a come-from-behind 2-1 win, and on Wednesday they beat AmaZulu 3-1.
Both performances were unconvincing, and each time, the opposition teams were dominant.
“It’s always difficult to pre-empt what is going to happen in the next match,” said Mngqithi about the upcoming Chiefs clash
“With due respect, it’s always important to give respect to the opponents. You don’t want to go in that match with a sense that you are entitled to get the results, or you are entitled to score goals.
“At the moment, Chiefs is also playing well, and they are a big force in South African football.”
With due respect, the only time Chiefs have proved to be a force in South African football has been at the gate.
They are far and away the champion crowd-pullers in SA football, and some of their matches have been sold-out affairs – like in their 3-1 win over AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban this week – even when the team were losing more than winning matches.
“We still need to give them (Chiefs) the necessary respect they deserve, but be that as it may, we will try to give it our best shot and see what we can make out of it,” said Mngqithi.
“Hopefully, the gods of football will be with us to score those goals.”
Mngqithi won’t need to rely on the gods of football to score goals. The club have given him a squad that includes the best players in the country, and many of them are match-winners in their own right.
The squad is so powerful that Mngqithi has left two of those top players in the stands for the past four games, and Sundowns fans will be looking on anxiously to see if Khuliso Mudau and Teboho Mokoena will play against Chiefs.
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This issue has started to polarise supporters because the two players are fan favourites.
Mngqithi has said there is no bad blood between him and the duo, but it was weird that he has ignored their selection claims for four matches on the trot.
When Mngqithi plots his game plan for the Chiefs match, Mokoena must come into the picture because he will be the answer to the Amakhosi’s midfield general, Uruguayan Gaston Sirino.
The former Sundowns star is enjoying a new lease of life at Chiefs, and scored a superb goal in the victory over AmaZulu on Wednesday.
Mokoena can be entrusted with wresting midfield supremacy from Sirino and posing a threat with his long-range scoring ability.
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Mudau must be called up to marshal the defence and take care of the threat of striker Ranga Chivaviro, who opened the scoring for Chiefs against AmaZulu.
He was also prominent in the build-up movements out wide, and this is where Mudau has proved effective.
Moreover, Mudau has a penchant for initiating counter-attacks from deep areas and which Chiefs will find hard to contain.
Sundowns have the benefit of three days to prepare for the Soccer City showdown, whereas Chiefs have a day less.