Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has lifted the lid on how the club’s recruitment in recent seasons has been contradictory to the mandate set by former president Patrice Motsepe.
Mngqithi spent 12 years at Masandawana, initially assisting Pitso Mosimane before becoming head coach.
At the time, Motsepe, now CAF president, was in charge of the club and laid out a clear mandate. The Golden Arrows head coach has issued a stark assessment of the Brazilians’ recruitment strategy, pointing out that it’s the root cause of the club’s dwindling representation in the senior national team, Bafana Bafana.
Mngqithi’s comments come amid a significant shift in the national team’s dynamics, with rivals Orlando Pirates now boasting the most players in the recent national squad. In the previous edition of AFCON, Sundowns had nine players in the squad while the Bucs had four. This time around, the Bucs have nine while their rivals have five.
WHAT MANQOBA MNGQITHI SAID ABOUT SUNDOWNS’ RECRUITMENT
“People will say this and that… But the reality of the matter is Pirates have got a lot of local players, and Sundowns does not have local players in the starting lineup,” Mngqithi explained. “Sundowns have got five or six players that are not eligible to play for Bafana Bafana. And that’s where this thing is now, taking a different direction.”
The veteran mentor revealed that during his highly successful tenure at Chloorkop, a key objective from the leadership was for Sundowns to serve as a feeder for the national team, from youth structures to the senior squad.
“When I was there, it was one of the mandates from the boss [Motsepe]. He wanted Sundowns to be able to help national teams as well… Sundowns always had good representation. But I think lately, they have not recruited much in terms of the South African players.”
The veteran coach, however, acknowledges the high-stakes logic behind the Brazilians’ decisions, particularly when replacing key quality players.
“Maybe [they are] specifically focusing on decisive positions. You know, when you lose a player like Lucas [Ribeiro], you want to say, ‘Can you get two or three more players that can plug that gap, that maybe are at that level?’”
He praised Sundowns’ overall effort in strengthening the squad but noted the nationality of the new additions. “I think they’ve done exceptionally well. But unfortunately, that strengthening was mainly from players from outside. The two players, Resinho and Nuno Santos, are big additions to the team.”
‘THEMBA ZWANE IS JUST COMING FROM INJURY’
He also believes Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos’s selection criteria, specifically the requirement for consistent game time, further compounds Sundowns’ problem, citing the injury woes of key national team regulars.
“Unfortunately, [Themba] Zwane is just coming back from injury. You’ve got a [Thapelo Morena] who’s also been injured a lot. Even [Bathusi] Aubaas has not played too many matches, then [Mothobi] Mvala has not been playing at all in that central defence. And they have also not been doing exceptionally well, to be honest.”
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