Club World Cup team guide – Mamelodi Sundowns: South African champions with a Brazilian star

New York Times

a day ago

Sundowns won their eighth South African Premiership championship in a row in May, extending their record as the country's most successful team. The club now has 15 domestic titles compared to Orlando Pirates and Kaiser Chiefs, who both have four.
Their dominance owes much to the investment of owner Patrice Motsepe, a mining billionaire who has handed over the running of the club to his son Tlhopie since he was elected as the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2021.
Beyond their domestic dominance, Sundowns reached this year's CAF Champions League final, but lost 3-2 on aggregate to Egyptian side Pyramids.
The structure and off-field operation at Sundowns is as competitive and ambitious as any in Europe.
This is an experienced team with lots of exposure to tournament football, and their players form the backbone of a South African side that reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2024.
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South Africa are among the favourites for the next edition of the tournament in Morocco later this year. They are also on course to qualify for next summer's World Cup for the first time since 2010.
When it comes to their chances, Sundowns have been drawn in Group F with Borussia Dortmund, Fluminense and Ulsan — and their first fixture against the South Korean team will be pivotal.
Sundowns are one of four African teams competing at the Club World Cup.
They qualified as the second-best eligible team due to their performances in the CAF Champions League during the four-year qualifying period, having reached the quarter-final stage of that competition in each of the past seven seasons.
The club has long been associated with a style called 'shoeshine and piano', which in basic terms is 'touch football', similar to tiki-taka.
That's code for: building from the back, keeping the ball patiently and simply, and maintaining control of the game.
Since the appointment of Miguel Cardoso at the end of last year, the Portuguese coach has introduced more defensive discipline and a greater focus on set pieces.
Some critics have claimed this is a departure from the club's ethos, but Cardoso's methods have produced results.
Since winning the CAF Champions League for the first time in 2016, the club has produced some thrilling performances in the competition but has not been able to reach the final. That changed in April when Sundowns knocked out Cairo giants Al Ahly on away goals.
Victory over Pyramids would have been further vindication for Cardoso's methods, but a stoppage-time equaliser for the visitors in Pretoria in the first leg proved damaging.
Cardoso arrived in December 2024 after winning the Tunisian league with Esperance last season.
He has vast experience in Europe, having emerged from Porto's youth system in the period when Jose Mourinho led the club to the Champions League title in 2004.
After assistant roles at Braga, Sporting CP, Deportivo La Coruna and Shakhtar Donetsk, Cardoso led Rio Ave to their highest ever finish in the Portuguese league, qualifying for Europe.
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Spells at Nantes, Celta Vigo and AEK followed, before he returned to Rio Ave.
Cardoso was targeted by Sundowns after knocking the club out of the CAF Champions League with Esperance.
Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro plays off the right of the attack and finished as the South African Premiership's leading scorer in May with 16 goals.
The 26-year-old joined the club from Beveren in Belgium two years ago, after initially moving from Brazil to Europe with French side Valenciennes.
He is the same age as Chilean playmaker Manuel Allende, who nearly joined Arsenal a decade ago after impressing at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. Allende has since played for clubs in Mexico and Uruguay, before moving to Sundowns in 2022.
Despite a sprinkling of foreign talent, the most popular player in the Sundowns squad is Themba Zwane, the 35-year-old club captain, who has just recovered from a serious Achilles injury.
When Sundowns lost the CAF Champions League final, the average age of the team was nearly 30. One of the youngest members of the starting XI in the second leg was 24-year-old Jayden Adams, who joined from Stellenbosch earlier this year.
The versatile midfielder is expected to establish himself as a regular starter next season and has been compared to club legend Zwane.
Sundowns' nickname, the Brazilians, stems from the colour of the team's kit, but also the way the team is expected to play.
After the Motsepe takeover in 2003, the club hired a series of high-profile managers, including the legendary Bulgarian forward Hristo Stoichkov and the late Dutch midfielder Johan Neeskens.
There is much debate in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent about whether it is healthy for a club to dominate a league like Sundowns have for so long, with critics comparing them to Bayern Munich because of their financial power and capacity to absorb surrounding talent.
Some historical context appears to be lost in this conversation because Sundowns certainly do not solely owe their success to their wealthy owner. When Motsepe bought the club in 2003, Sundowns already had four South African Premiership titles, the same number Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs have today.
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And while it is true that Sundowns do not have as many fans as their rivals from Soweto, it is nevertheless an authentic club that represents another sizeable township in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria.
Sundowns' success has also arguably been good for South Africa, helping drive new standards, develop players and coaches, and change perceptions about what is possible for clubs from the continent when investment is made available.
(Top photos:, NurPhoto/Getty Images; design: Kelsea Petersen)