Latest news with #GavinHunt
IOL News
2 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
'Not the truth' – Gavin Hunt disputes Teko Modise's claims about his 2007 exit from SuperSport United
Former SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt Former SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt has disputed Teko Modise's version of events that led to the star midfielder's exit from the Tshwane club. Photo: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers Former SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt says he disagrees with Teko Modise's side of the story about how he was sold to Orlando Pirates. A month ago, Modise told the Izinja zeGame podcast that he was sold by SuperSport because he did not fit into Hunt's plans. Modise left SuperSport in 2007, and the club went on to win three consecutive PSL titles. But, according to Hunt, selling the attacking midfielder was not his idea as he was planning to build the team around him. 'I'll sit in the media and I'll listen to Teko talk and he talks the biggest load of nonsense because that is not the truth,' Hunt said when speaking on Apex Sports International. 'We played a pre-season game in Australia he won Man of the Match. I was like 'We're going to build a team around this guy'. We get back and we train for a week or two.
The Star
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Can SuperSport United make it count against Golden Arrows to avoid PSL playoffs?
Matshelane Mamabolo | Published 15 minutes ago A MATCH that was supposed to have been a celebratory event for a seasoned coach will now be played with much greater significance. Back in February when SuperSport United hosted Golden Arrows at the Lucas Moripe Stadium, the game was all about Gavin Hunt being in charge of his 1,000th professional match. The multiple championship-winning coach was given a guard of honour by both clubs as he walked onto the pitch, and the small crowd were on their feet applauding. But load-shedding spoiled it all, the match being stalled midway through the first half as the lights went off. Then that stanza was completed with the score at 1-1, following goals by Christian Saile and Willemson Ndwandwe, before the darkness and lack of a generator led to its abandonment. Three months later, the two teams will complete the match, with just the second half to be played at noon today at the same venue. It could well be different clubs playing this match – Hunt having long been fired from SuperSport, and his then-counterpart Musa Bilankulu demoted to the assistant role at an Arrows outfit now coached by Manqoba Mngqithi. Back then, both sides were mid-table outfits nursing hopes of a top-eight finish. But now they are bottom dwellers, with the KwaZulu-Natal side having a very slim chance of usurping Richards Bay in eighth place. SuperSport, on the other hand, need to get something out of this match like the desert needs the rain, desperately. Matsatsantsa a Pitori are in 15th place, and will go into the promotion-relegation playoffs with the two sides from the Motsepe Foundation Championship if they do not get at least a point. On the face of it, all they need do is keep Arrows from finding their net, and the former three-time league champions would have their status secured. But it will not be that easy, not with their recent wretched form that has seen them and victories resembling the parallel lines of the railway – destined never to meet. After every match they've played and lost, interim SuperSport coach Andre Arendse spoke confidently that they would do better in the next one. That has not happened, hence the situation they find themselves in. Last weekend, after they lost 2-0 to Richards Bay, the previously confident former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper cut a sorry and dejected figure as he tried to remain hopeful. He lamented their lack of luck, and said he hopes they will enjoy it this time around. They better do so, given the rumours that the club's status is going to be sold to a Free State consortium that wants to revive Bloemfontein Celtic. You can bet they will not want to buy a second division team. It will not be stretching it to say Arendse and his team are facing the most important 45 minutes of their careers. Will they make it count?
IOL News
7 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Can SuperSport United make it count against Golden Arrows to avoid PSL playoffs?
Christian Saile Christian Saile (centre) scored for SuperSport United against Golden Arrows a few months ago. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix A MATCH that was supposed to have been a celebratory event for a seasoned coach will now be played with much greater significance. Back in February when SuperSport United hosted Golden Arrows at the Lucas Moripe Stadium, the game was all about Gavin Hunt being in charge of his 1,000th professional match. The multiple championship-winning coach was given a guard of honour by both clubs as he walked onto the pitch, and the small crowd were on their feet applauding. But load-shedding spoiled it all, the match being stalled midway through the first half as the lights went off. Then that stanza was completed with the score at 1-1, following goals by Christian Saile and Willemson Ndwandwe, before the darkness and lack of a generator led to its abandonment. Three months later, the two teams will complete the match, with just the second half to be played at noon today at the same venue. It could well be different clubs playing this match – Hunt having long been fired from SuperSport, and his then-counterpart Musa Bilankulu demoted to the assistant role at an Arrows outfit now coached by Manqoba Mngqithi. Back then, both sides were mid-table outfits nursing hopes of a top-eight finish. But now they are bottom dwellers, with the KwaZulu-Natal side having a very slim chance of usurping Richards Bay in eighth place. SuperSport, on the other hand, need to get something out of this match like the desert needs the rain, desperately. Matsatsantsa a Pitori are in 15th place, and will go into the promotion-relegation playoffs with the two sides from the Motsepe Foundation Championship if they do not get at least a point. On the face of it, all they need do is keep Arrows from finding their net, and the former three-time league champions would have their status secured. But it will not be that easy, not with their recent wretched form that has seen them and victories resembling the parallel lines of the railway – destined never to meet. After every match they've played and lost, interim SuperSport coach Andre Arendse spoke confidently that they would do better in the next one. That has not happened, hence the situation they find themselves in. Last weekend, after they lost 2-0 to Richards Bay, the previously confident former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper cut a sorry and dejected figure as he tried to remain hopeful.
Daily Maverick
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Mamelodi Sundowns now just two matches from long-coveted Champions League glory
They have yearned for this moment since 2016, when they were crowned African champions for the first time. Now Mamelodi Sundowns are back in the final of the Champions League, for the third time. All those associated with Mamelodi Sundowns have dreamt for almost a decade about the situation they find themselves in now. The Brazilians are contesting their first African Champions League final since 2016, when it ended in a 3-1 aggregate victory for them over Egyptian outfit Zamalek. In 2024/25 they make a third return to the decider on the grandest stage of African club soccer – with their opponents being another Egyptian side, the Pyramids. To reach the final Sundowns saw off record African champions Al Ahly, squeezing into the decider on the away-goals rule following a 1-1 aggregate score over two legs. The Pyramids pirouetted past Orlando Pirates, claiming a 3-2 aggregate victory to book their spot in their first Champions League final, in just their second appearance in the continental competition. The clubs will face off in the first leg on 24 May at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. The reverse fixture is scheduled to take place in Cairo on 1 June. Undisputed South African champs Despite Pirates' best efforts this season, Sundowns recently retained their Premiership title, winning South Africa's top-flight soccer league for an emphatic eighth consecutive season. The Pretoria side now have more league titles in the Premier Soccer League era than all the previous league winners combined. Their latest league conquest placed Masandawana on 15 league titles. The next-best sides are Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs with four Premiership titles apiece, followed by SuperSport United with three. Santos, Manning Rangers and Bidvest Wits have one each. But, as respected South African coach and four-time Premiership champion Gavin Hunt said, the metric of success for Sundowns is not how many times they win the local league, although it's certainly a key component of a successful season. He opined that a memorable season for Sundowns involves continental success. 'They should be judged in the Champions League. They should be in the semifinal and final every year and that's where you should judge them. Because the gap is so much bigger than everybody in the league,' Hunt said. Final hurdle After years of being trapped in the quarterfinal stage (losing there three seasons in a row), the Brazilians finally shattered that glass ceiling. They reached the semifinals twice (2023 and 2024) under the tutelage of Rulani Mokwena, but fell short of the final each time. This took some of the shine off the magnificent work Mokwena and his technical team did in general. On the back of those couple of semifinal tumbles, Masandawana have finally cleared that hurdle. Now only two matches stand between them and ascending to the pinnacle of African soccer again. Portuguese tactician Miguel Cardoso, in his first season with Sundowns, has delivered the long-awaited final. Now they will be aiming to do what they did with Pitso Mosimane in 2016. This is why Cardoso – who also reached last season's Champions League final (with Tunisia's Espérance) – was recruited by Sundowns in December 2024. Cardoso succeeded Manqoba Mngqithi as head coach after Sundowns had a mixed start to their season. They toiled in the Champions League as they collected just two points from as many games under Mngqithi. They scored a single goal. They were also vanquished by Premiership rookies Magesi in the Carling Knockout Cup final in November, losing 2-1 to the Limpopo team. Change of guard Sundowns acted quickly as they released Mngqithi after he'd spent a decade at the club, first as assistant to Mosimane, then as head coach. 'We must never be slaves to our history. We need to celebrate it and make sure it's something that drives us forward,' said Sundowns chairperson Thlopie Motsepe as the club welcomed Cardoso. 'As a club of 54 years of heritage and existence, we always have to keep striving to grow, adapt and find new ways to achieve our dreams. We made our decision on that need,' Motsepe said. Cardoso has coached at clubs such as Porto, Braga, Deportivo La Coruna, Celta Vigo, AEK Athens, Nantes and Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite this vast experience, some in South Africa expressed doubt about Cardoso's capabilities. At the time of his appointment the Portuguese coach had only won one trophy as a head coach, clinching the Tunisian top-flight with Espérance. This made people doubt whether he could truly transform the fortunes of Sundowns in the Champions League. With Masandawana's recent Premiership triumph, he's now won two trophies. He can add a third over the next week. However, Cardoso has played down the significance of his successful start to life in South Africa, saying he never paid any attention to the noise to begin with. 'I don't need external validation. I don't live for that, I live for other things. So, people having doubts about me was never a problem for me,' Cardoso stated. Despite this being the Pyramids' first Champions League final, it is not their maiden continental final. They played in the 2020 Confederation Cup decider, losing 1-0 Morocco's RS Berkane. The Pyramids are a relatively new team. They were only founded in 2008, as Al Assiouty Sport. In 2018, under new ownership, they rebranded as the Pyramids. Since then they have been a disruptor, not only in the Egyptian Premier League but in Africa as well. Hence, they find themselves in this position. They will be no pushovers. DM Champions League final fixtures Saturday, 24 May Sunday, 1 June
IOL News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Modiba: Mamelodi Sundowns primed for ‘different' Pyramids FC in CAF Champions League final
Aubrey Modiba Aubrey Modiba says that Mamelodi Sundowns are well aware of the threat posed by Pyramids FC. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix SuperSport United's ability to be a feeder team for Mamelodi Sundowns has mostly paid off, as the playing personnel graduate from being boys to men. SuperSport were the first team to win the Premiership for three successive seasons in the PSL era during the reign of coach Gavin Hunt. But after selling most of their depth to cross-town rivals Sundowns, there's been a power shift in domestic football as the latter dominated in the league. The Brazilians, with the help of former SuperSport players, recently won a record-extending eighth championship in a row via the Premiership this season. Now that they are eyeing their second African crown in the CAF Champions League this season, they could be helped by the former players of their arch-rivals. Video Player is loading. 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Next Stay Close ✕ Aubrey Modiba, Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena and Grant Kekana were inexperienced when they lost the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup final with SuperSport to TP Mazembe. But fast-forward to eight years later, the quartet have grown in leaps and bounds as they've become fully-fledged players for Sundowns and Bafana Bafana. Masandawana, as such, will heavily rely on them to guide the club to the continental title when they face Pyramids FC in the showdown over the two-legged contest. Speaking during Sundowns' media event at Chloorkop on Wednesday ahead of the first leg of the CAF Champions League final at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (3pm kick-off), Modiba admitted that they want to make up for lost time. 'It would be great for us, because we really want to do well at this club and win trophies,' Modiba said. 'The last one (continental final) I played with SuperSport was our first one, and I didn't have much experience, actually. We saw how we fell short in that game. 'But right now, having played so many Champions League games at Sundowns, we understand what it takes to reach the final and try and win it. 'It's been eluding us for so many years, but right now, we are on the right track. We just have to do well on both legs – firstly at home.' The former SuperSport quartet won't do it in isolation, though. They have already received first-hand advice from the two surviving members of the class of 2016. Themba Zwane and Denis Onyango were part of the squad that beat Zamalek 3-1 on aggregate in the continental showdown over the two legs. 'I think what really helped us as the players that joined in recent years is that the guys that won it explained how important it is to win this competition,' Modiba added. 'When we arrived here, we had that mentality, and were be able to say that we need to do well in the competition because of the previous group. 'It hasn't happened, but we have been knocking and flirting with it. 'Finally, we are in the final, so we want to rekindle the joy of 2016. 'We could see the celebrations all around the country – the fans were happy, and everyone around the club. 'We want to bring back that energy and positivity. So yeah, hopefully we will be able to bring back the smiles into the faces of our fans.' Sundowns are all but tipped to do that: become the first South African club to win the African crown twice, having been level on a title apiece with Orlando Pirates. But despite the growth of the squad and influx of information, Modiba and Co know that won't be easy, especially against an evolving Pyramids outfit. 'They have signed quite a few players from the team that we played,' said Modiba, with Sundowns having drawn with Pyramids before beating them in the group stage in 2023. 'I think now, they've probably gained more experience in the Champions League, hence they are in the final. 'They are even number two in their league (in Egypt), competing with Al Ahly. 'So, I think they have evolved and are doing well. They've gained experience in the Champions League – that's why they are in the final. 'It's a different team, different coach and approach from the team that we played. They are doing well.'
