Steve Barker looking forward to Stellenbosch old boys' reunion when they face Sundowns

Stellenbosch FC may not have a derby any more after Cape Town City were relegated at the end of last season, but this weekend’s clash against Mamelodi Sundowns will certainly have a familiar feeling to it.

Sundowns have recruited - others would say raided - Stellies’ stocks in recent seasons with a number of high-profile players departing The Maroons for Chloorkop.

Playmaker Junior Mendietta kickstarted the trend, although the Argentine midfielder has since left the Pretoria-based club for Saudi Arabia before moving on to Greece.

Ace striker Iqraam Rayners then made the switch before midfielder Jayden Adams was also lured up north at the beginning of the year for a reported record R20 million transfer fee.

Sundowns were not done yet though as they also recently captured star left-back Fawaaz Basadien prior to the start of this new season.

Barker played an influential role in all of Rayners, Adams and Basadien’s career paths.

Adams, in particular, is a homegrown product from Cloetesville, who was Stellenbosch’s first academy graduate to sign a long-term contract back in August 2020.

Equally, he resurrected both Rayners and Basadien’s careers at Stellies after indifferent spells on the Highveld with SuperSport United and Moroka Swallows respectively.

The trio also all earned their Bafana Bafana caps under Barker’s mentorship before moving on to the Brazilians.

Barker is therefore looking forward to reuniting with his former prodigies, but knows better than most the potent threat the trio pose on Saturday.

“It's nice seeing your ex-players thriving and doing well, so it will be nice to see a couple of them on the weekend,” he said.

“But we know the quality that they have. If we don't keep a player like Rayners quiet, he is going to punish us. So, we know enough of their qualities that hopefully we can negate them. 

“But yeah, it will be nice to see them on Saturday.”

Sundowns have endured an indifferent start to the season after being knocked out of the MTN8 semifinals by Orlando Pirates on penalties last weekend. 

Equally, the perennial league champions also played to a rare draw against Chippa United in Gqeberha on the opening day of their Betway Premiership title defence.

Much has been made of coach Miguel Cardoso’s usage of his large squad, particularly in terms of fielding players out of position just to give them some game time.

Most notably, Cardoso has utilised Basadien on the right instead of his regular left wing back slot.

Barker admits that Sundowns could be ripe for the picking, but is also wary that Masandawana still boast plenty of quality all around the park and capable of bouncing back at any time.

“I think whenever you play a quality team like Sundowns, it's always going to be difficult, whether they are at their best or even now maybe, you know, they are having to just sort out one or two things.

“It is an opportunity, it is at home, you know, it's important for us to be winning our home matches and getting maximum points.

“We've got to go there with confidence and we've got to go there with belief and just play to our strengths and our abilities and obviously be careful of what they do offer. 

“But yeah, they have to sort their own things out.”