Mamelodi Sundowns have dominated the league championship and that reputation has put them on the spot as the team to beat. The Brazilians are tied with Amakhosi on 56 points after 29 games. Picture: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
JOHANNESBURG - Mamelodi Sundowns have dominated the league championship and that reputation has put them on the spot as the team to beat. The Brazilians are tied with Amakhosi on 56 points after 29 games.
The race for supremacy will be settled today, the final day of the league programme.
Sundowns have an affair with struggling Black Leopards at Dobsonville Stadium at 3.30pm. Chiefs will square off against Baroka at the same time at Bidvest Stadium.
The Glamour Boys are on top because of a superior goal difference but the Brazilians will have every reason to believe that they can still do it.
A league triumph for Sundowns is important to cap their bragging rights as they are gunning for their 10th league title in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era.
With their dominance, Sundowns will want to put it beyond doubt that they are the undisputed league champions.
Sundowns are the defending league champions. They have been crowned the champions for the past two seasons.
The ultimate goal for Sundowns and their coach Pitso Mosimane is to win a hat-trick of league titles. Only SuperSport United and Sundowns have achieved that feat in the Premiership era.
Mosimane will have his eye on that milestone. But they will need more goals. They netted three against Polokwane City which helped them in terms of the goal difference.
But if Amakhosi lose or play to a stalemate against Baroka and Sundowns beat Polokwane, the Brazilians will be crowned champions.
It is not in their hands but they know the importance of the job.
The Sundowns coach is tied with the late Romanian coach Ted Dumitru, legendary Gordon Igesund and the majestic Gavin Hunt on four league titles.
He is one away from becoming the most successful coach in the PSL era.
And he would have created a unique record as the only black coach to have such a decorated CV.
Sundowns have amassed the Telkom Knockout this season after beating Maritzburg United in the final at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Sundowns are still in the running in the Nedbank Cup as they are scheduled to play Bloemfontein Celtic in the final after the conclusion of the league programme.
Winning the league will take Sundowns a step closer towards winning an unprecedented treble.
That success will certainly come at the right time if Sundowns do go on and win the two remaining silverwares.
Like their rivals Kaizer Chiefs, Sundowns are celebrating their 50th birthday this year. There’s no doubt that they want to celebrate the milestone in style.
Winning the league will be the icing on the cake as they have already upgraded their logo to mark their birthday.
@minenhlecr7
IOL Sport