29-04-2025
57 - that all-too-familiar number so often echoed in local football
The number 57 carries a range of meanings and associations across various fields, from mathematics and science to pop culture and sports.
Though not a prime number, it is humorously referred to as a 'Grothendieck prime' in mathematical circles.
In science, 57 is the atomic number of lanthanum, the first element in the lanthanide series.
Astronomically, it designates both Messier 57 — the famed Ring Nebula — and NGC 57, an elliptical galaxy.
In popular culture, the number features in films such as Passenger 57 and Contagion further embed it in the public imagination.
The number 57 has acquired a curious notoriety. It is frequently hurled, half-jokingly and half-derisively, at Mamelodi Sundowns, the Pretoria-based juggernaut affectionately known as Bafana Ba Style.
Despite their dominance in local football and their enviable trophy cabinet, the team is often teased for drawing modest crowds to their matches—57 being the tongue-in-cheek reference to the number of spectators allegedly in attendance.
For rival fans of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates — the country's most passionately supported and oldest clubs — the number has become a sly shorthand for undermining Sundowns' success by pointing to their perceived lack of mass following.
Senzeni na? ??????
— Tebogo Khaas (@tebogokhaas) April 28, 2025
Much like an elliptical galaxy — composed of mature, radiant stars and marked by a calm, enduring brilliance — Sundowns has perfected the art of scouting with seasoned precision.
Eschewing flashy theatrics, the club methodically assembles a luminous constellation of talent from across South Africa and beyond, with stars like midfielder Themba Zwane, Brazilian striker Lucas Ribeiro, Chile's Marcello Allende, Namibia's Peter Shalulile, and Ronwen Williams orbiting its core of sustained excellence and keeping the team firmly anchored at the summit of domestic and continental football.
In Contagion, it was 'Vaccine #57' that offered hope — successfully protecting a lab monkey and symbolising a breakthrough against adversity. Similarly, Sundowns denied a clear penalty despite damning VAR evidence in their CAF Champions League semifinal against Al Ahly, appearing metaphorically inoculated against despair.
From Mockery to Majesty: How 57 Became Sundowns' Sacred Number, by @tebogokhaas @Masandawana @CAFCLCC @OfficialPSL @SAFA_net @KickOffMagazine
— Tebogo Khaas (@tebogokhaas) April 27, 2025
Like the fictional serum, their resilience proved potent, powering them to one of their most gallant performances yet — securing a place in the final, away from home, with unshaken resolve.
This, despite a paltry — dare one say, 57?—yet unwavering contingent of Sundowns supporters dotting the stands, valiantly holding their ground amid a sea of red-clad Al Ahly fanatics.
Much like lanthanum — often found alongside other rare earth elements and prized for its role in catalysts, scintillators, and welding — Sundowns delivered scintillating football that has become a catalytic force in elevating the local game, while exhibiting a welded solidity in their semifinal fixtures, fusing resilience and brilliance in pursuit of continental glory.
Was it sheer brilliance or a touch of divine intervention that saw that fortuitous 'own goal' fall in Masandawana's favour?
Mohamed Hossam / EPA
Whatever the source, it felt as though the heavens themselves had a stake in Sundowns' journey.
And who's to say it wasn't a sign? After all, the word Almighty appears exactly 57 times in 57 verses in the King James Bible — surely no coincidence for a team long mocked with that very number. Could this be the prophecy unfolding before our eyes?
A celestial nod crowning Sundowns not just kings, but the Almighty of the 2025 CAF Champions League?
Was it sheer brilliance or a flicker of divine intervention that saw that 'own' goal fall ever so kindly for Masandawana?
???????? ????????????????, ???? ?????? ???????????????? ??
The Brazilians will do battle with Pyramids FC in the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL final! ???????? #Sundowns #RabatsenaGape
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) April 25, 2025
At that moment, as fortune bent ever so slightly in Sundowns' favour, it was tempting to believe that the football gods — or perhaps something higher — had cast their vote.
And what of the symbolism?
The curious alignment with the number long used to jibe at the club's sparse but steadfast support. Could it be that the mockery has been transformed into a mantle — an omen that Sundowns is destined not merely to compete, but to ascend as the Almighty of the Champions League? Perhaps.
Or perhaps it's just football's poetry playing out in real time. Either way, as Masandawana marches toward its prime, one thing is certain: the yellow number 57 will never sound quite the same again.
Only time — and perhaps a few more divine 57 yellow deflections — will tell.
