Are Stellenbosch PSL title contenders?

7 Views

Stellenbosch FC lie six points behind league leaders Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

The Cape Winelands outfit has remained relatively under-the-radar midst a Buccaneers resurgence, who won their opening seven league games until facing Steve Barker’s side on December 1.

Some fans are already calling this year’s PSL season a two-horse race between Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, but one can’t ignore Stellenbosch’s promise.

Several star players

They have stars all over the pitch, from Bafana Bafana’s Jayden Adams and Fawaaz Basadien to Devin Titus and Andre de Jong, all of whom have prolific tendencies capable of beating the league’s best teams.

Stellenbosch has three wins in four against the league leaders this season, beating Masandawana twice in four days, sending them to the MTN8 Cup final but subsequently lost 3-1 to, you guessed it, the Buccaneers.

Still, the once-struggling Western Cape side is quickly becoming a consistent PSL powerhouse, finishing third last season, level on points with second-placed Orlando Pirates.

So, while fans remain fixated on the Sundowns-Pirates battle, keep an eye on the Cape Winelands team—there’s something special brewing in Stellenbosch.

Sundowns announce new manager

The Brazilian’s management shocked the soccer world when they fired Manqoba Mngqithi earlier this week and swiftly introduced Miguel Cardoso as his replacement, who wasted no time outlining his plans.

“We have to study the team and the players and it’s obvious that the players we have are technically well developed,” Cardosa explained.

“They suit the game of a coach that wants to impose himself on the game. Because that’s the base – to have quality players. I struggled to impose myself where the quality could not sustain what I wanted to put in,” the Portuguese coach added.

“I want a team that can control the games. Controlling the games means the team must be solid in the four moments of the game. Must understand very well what to do with the ball, obviously, but as I have in mind, you have to have the ball to move, not the ball but the opponent in order to find the right spaces to attack those spaces.

“When teams play against Sundowns, we really need to understand this question of the spaces. Where are the spaces? How we can create, how we should utilize and use the spaces that are in the game. So, having control of the game also has to do with being aggressive in the moment you lose the ball because as much as you control the game, there is a moment where you are going to lose the ball and you need to be strong in that moment. I think it’s a huge solidarity aming the players, I prefer the players to tun for three or four seconds and make an effort to recover the ball immediately, rather than coming down, reorganize and defend to win the ball and then having to go forward again.”