Mamelodi Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa believes the club will be more difficult to contend with for opponents with new head coach Manqoba Mngqithi at the wheel.
The Brazilians began their 2024/2025 campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Polokwane City in an MTN8 quarter-final last weekend, with evidence of variations to their play from the team that won two trophies last season.
The Chloorkop-based outfit chose to relieve Rulani Mokwena of his duties at the end of last season, and handed his job to Mngqithi, who will be assisted by Steve Komphela and Romain Folz.
With Mokwena having taken Sundowns to near ridiculous levels last season as they lost just one league game, comparisons between his team and the current one were always on the horizon.
Mngqithi has already indicated that he intends to make his team slightly more direct as opposed to Mokwena’s slow and calculated ‘chameleon football’.
Lebusa has been at Sundowns since 2018 and has won six league titles with the club, alongside four domestic and continental trophies.
The 31-year-old believes the Brazilians may be more dangerous this season, and will not show any of the frailties many are expecting.
Our new faces meeting The Yellow Wall 🟡#Sundowns #RabatsenaGape pic.twitter.com/tdMRvHn3I3
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) August 13, 2024
“He’s been with so many teams, he’s got so much experience and even when he was the assistant coach he was giving us a lot of information,” the Welkom-born star said of Mngqithi.
“So, I don’t think what the people are saying that we are more vulnerable now is true ... I don’t think that. I think we are now even more dangerous.”
One of the newest faces at Chloorkop is French-Moroccan mentor Folz, who recently joined the club from a “performance manager” role at Fifa.
The 34-year-old returned to South African shores after previous stints with Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu.
Lebusa admitted to being quite surprised by Folz’s audacious attitude towards his new adventure at the club, and stated that he felt confident “Fohloza” would contribute to their success.
𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐌 📹
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) July 22, 2024
Here's an inside look at Coach Romains Folz doing some hands-on work with the team in Austria! 🗣
Full video on YouTube now! 📲 https://t.co/jIXZAusm6W#Sundowns pic.twitter.com/FKcZIqdbzm
“He’s a breath of fresh air and a young coach. A lot of us have never worked with him, but when he came in, the first thing he did was to take charge,” he said.
“We were surprised with how bold he is, but as time went on, we got to understand the type of person he is. He’s very outspoken, and I think he will help the team a lot.”
Sundowns were drawn against Stellenbosch FC in the semi-finals of the Wafa Wafa competition, while Orlando Pirates take on Cape Town City, with the dates and times of the matches yet to be announced.
The Brazilians will also have an eye on continental football, with their CAF Champions League second preliminary round match taking place on September 13.
Mnqgith and Co will be pleased to get time to keep embedding their ideas in their team, having seemingly struggled to get into gear in their opening match of the season.