Teko Modise explains how building from the back fuel Sundowns’ success

Former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Teko Modise has offered his insights into why the philosophy of possession and building from the back has been successful for the club.

At the heart of Sundowns’ philosophy is a commitment to keeping possession of the ball, a playing style which is different from the other clubs in the DStv Premiership.

This means that Sundowns start attacks from deep within their own half, using short passes and intricate movements to draw the opposition out of position.

So far this season, Masandawana have won all their 11 matches in the league. To add, they have scored the most number of goals [23] and conceded the least [three].

Some teams like Moroka Swallows, Chippa United, Orlando Pirates and TS Galaxy have adapted to the new playing style, however they seem to be struggling to perfect it. They commit a lot of mistakes at the back that lead them to concede goals.

TEKO MODISE SAYS TO PLAY FROM THE BACK, A TEAM NEED QUALITY PLAYERS

Modise says to play from the back and to perfect the playing style, a team need players that have good quality and are versatile like Sundowns.

“It helps coach Rulani [Mokwena] because you have coachable players. If you don’t have the quality, that’s when Mamelodi Sundowns will punish you because you trying to copy them,” Modise told PitchsidePodcast.

“You have players that are flexible and versatile to play in different positions to adjust. That’s where the world of football is going. You can’t just be a player that has played one position your entire career.

“I think you need to elevate your game, we have players in the team and look at the acquisition that hasn’t kicked off.

“We still have [Thapelo] Maseko, we still have [Lesiba] Nku that haven’t kicked off. When they kickoff we’re going to see a different way of Sundowns play out and out wingers with speed, a different style of Sundowns.”

TEKO MODISE SAYS MISTAKES ARE BOUND TO HAPPEN IF THE TEAM IS BUILDING FROM THE BACK

The former Pirates star, Modise further added that this playing style has a lost of mistakes even though Sundowns has mastered it to the tee.

“Just because you have perfected it, you still going to make mistakes. We still see mistakes from Ronwen [Williams] trying to build from the back. But 80 per cent of the time it’s good,” added Modise.

RELATED STORY: Teko Modise on Sundowns’ dominance over Al Ahly