Tshabalala: We Got To Be Tested
By Malose Wa Ga Lamola
Sundowns Ladies FC mentor, Jerry Tshabalala, chats to Newzroom Afrika Sports Anchor Tumi Kgaswe at the Hyundai-Sundowns Lounge.
ShakingInk got hold of Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies mentor, Jerry Tshabalala and the 2021 campaign 'Treble' winning coach reveals the story behind Sundowns success, the club’s philosophy and how they manage to marry collective discipline with individual creativity. Something they see as the ladder to all high designs. He also equates club chairman, Thlopie Motsepe, to the CAF President as a visionary of note. The principal catalyst of the new mood, Agnes Nkosi, led the team from the dugouts during the Cosafa region CAF qualifiers round and more of a carbon copy 'Mbiba' has come in full circle to win the inaugural Total Energies CAF Women’s Champions League as a solo rider. Nkosi gets a deserved pat on the shoulder from the head coach.
In the wake of new prosperity, a Cultural Revolution is coming to the boil at Chloorkop, the lust for aggression in football. Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies side has won every title on offer last season. Winning 'treble' is one of the mountainous accomplishments in football. Banyana Ba Style has won, the Cosafa region Caf qualifiers tournament title, conquered the continent after seeing off Hasaacas Football Club of Ghana 2-0 in the maiden Total Energies Women’s Caf Champions League final and then completed a treble with the Hollywoodbets Super League piece of silverware after claiming a historic 73 points.
Read: MaMkhize Is Their Role Model
After rattling the net eighty-seven times in the domestic league and enjoyed a scoring spree in the Cosafa Caf Women’s Champions League qualifiers, Sundowns, struggled to put more balls past opponents goalkeepers in the Champions League. Though, Sundowns created a vast acreage of spaces and goal scoring opportunities, The Brazilians scored a mere four goals in five games. Tactically, the Chloorkop based outfit is miles ahead of their opponents. Tshabalala says his side's attacking prowess in the Champions League shocked him, but understands the stature of the opposition. “We know we are a free scoring team, and it was a big concern for us when we failed to score goals in the tournament. The team picked at the right time, and we saw the glimpses during our semifinal game against Malabo Kings where we created so many scoring opportunities, and we could tell that we found our mojo back. The final proved that when we managed to score two goals in both halves.” Tshabalala lamented.
Despite not finding the net to Tshabalala's liking, but keeping zero at the back meant, Banyana Ba Style stood a better chance of winning their matches than losing. Sundowns won the continental, prestigious club competition without conceding a single goal. The attack is and remains the best form of defence. Modern football requires defenders to attack and attackers to defend. Sundowns style of play is a whirling formation in which players switch positions more constantly. Tshabalala applauded his trusted 'wall of Jericho' for keeping zilch at the back. “We are a very solid side in terms of defending. The experience of Zanele Nhlapho, Andile Dlamini and Bambanani Mbane came in handy for the team. Even in our domestic league, we are the only team that conceded the least goals. We are a team that believes that if you don't concede goals, you won't lose games.” Said Tshabalala.
Coach Tshabalala and his assistant Agnes Nkosi Photo Cred (@Sundows_Ladies)
Leaders habitually surround themselves with people they can trust. The man who entrusted coach Nkosi with the duty of bringing the Champions League title home, coach Tshabalala says, Mbiba deserves the total and rapt attention she continues to get from the public. “It was hard sitting on the stands. I have trusted Agnes. I have worked with Agnes for quite some time. I was not throwing her into the deep end, but if you don't throw her into the deep end now, when are you going to give her that chance to showcase that talent I have been saying that she is talented and can achieve whatever she believes in. As much as it was difficult, I know behind the backdoor I was there with the team, pushing the girls and pushing Agnes as well. It also gave me an opportunity to see the game far better than I usually do.” Tshabalala hailed his second in command
at the Hyundai and Sundowns lounge late last year.
With Tshabalala raring to go and ready to yell instructions from the comfort of the dugout in Morocco, higher authority intervened, and deemed his paperwork to be of yesteryear curriculum. “I had issues with my papers, which at the time we went to the tournament I thought they were up-to-date, but when CAF received them they were deemed to be of the old syllabus.” Tshabalala told ShakingInk.
Though, The Brazilians played in patches in the group phase of the tournament, but saw a massive gear change in the final match. For Mamelodi Sundowns, possession football is the thing, not kick and rush. They are playing a habit football. They can easily find each other by instinct. Sundowns played with a gorgeous, hyper-intelligent swagger in the final match of the competition. The mixture of pace, power, and movement showed Sundowns at their best. A more advanced football civilization. Sundowns' football is a mirror to- and the most interesting expression of, their culture. The women's team has instinctively wedded to the men's side doctrine of relentless attack. Tshabalala says Sundowns success and winning mentality in both men's and women's teams boils down to hard work. “Look at sundowns we are one big family. Every Tuesday and Thursday all coaches from u13 to DDC have their so called weekly gathering. We discuss the way we can improve our teams while we are not shying away from the club's style of play which is shoe-shine and piano.” Tshabalala reveals.
Also Read: We Can Dethrone Sundowns
Mamelodi Sundowns Chairman, Thlopie Motsepe, unveils a new partnership with Rocnation.
When Dr Patrice Motsepe became the solo owner of the club almost two decades ago, he made it no secret that, he wants his team to conquer the continent. True to his visionary nature, Sundowns has conquered
the African Safari, not once, but twice. His departure from the club to succeed Ahmad Ahmad at the Caf headquarters in Cairo was seen by many as a great loss at Chloorkop. Though, Dr Motsepe drafted in his son, Thlopie Motsepe as the new man in charge of the club, but the doubting Thomases have already filled papers with ink writing the club’s obituary. Tshabalala says the apple has fallen not too far from the tree. “We are all aware of the previous president of the club' vision, which was to make sundowns a force to be reckoned with in Africa. Slowly but surely sundowns are a force to be reckoned with in men's and women's football. The current chairman is also of a same vision, and he supports all the teams wholeheartedly. His work says it all, you can see now that Sundowns is becoming a big brand globally. We recently partnered with Rocnation, now we are on Fifa. A lot of big things are happening from the club's side.” Elaborated Tshabalala.
Related Piece: We Can Compete Against The Best
Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies side celebrate winning the maiden Women’s Caf Champions League title. Photo Cred: Twitter (@Sundowns_Ladies)
A cynical adage has it that it is easy to escalate to the top, but difficult to stay up there. Banyana Ba Style goes into the 2022 Women's CAF Champions League with a defending champions tag. Certainly, a team to beat in this edition of the Champions League. Tshabalala harbours a belief that, his side is capable, of defending the title. “It's not going to be an easy one for us, but what I like about the team is that, we perform better when we are under pressure. We are going out there to defend our title, and we will leave everything on the field of play. For us to be champions again, we got to be tested on different levels.” Tshabalala concluded.
@Lamola_Herold
In the wake of new prosperity, a Cultural Revolution is coming to the boil at Chloorkop, the lust for aggression in football. Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies side has won every title on offer last season. Winning 'treble' is one of the mountainous accomplishments in football. Banyana Ba Style has won, the Cosafa region Caf qualifiers tournament title, conquered the continent after seeing off Hasaacas Football Club of Ghana 2-0 in the maiden Total Energies Women’s Caf Champions League final and then completed a treble with the Hollywoodbets Super League piece of silverware after claiming a historic 73 points.
Read: MaMkhize Is Their Role Model
After rattling the net eighty-seven times in the domestic league and enjoyed a scoring spree in the Cosafa Caf Women’s Champions League qualifiers, Sundowns, struggled to put more balls past opponents goalkeepers in the Champions League. Though, Sundowns created a vast acreage of spaces and goal scoring opportunities, The Brazilians scored a mere four goals in five games. Tactically, the Chloorkop based outfit is miles ahead of their opponents. Tshabalala says his side's attacking prowess in the Champions League shocked him, but understands the stature of the opposition. “We know we are a free scoring team, and it was a big concern for us when we failed to score goals in the tournament. The team picked at the right time, and we saw the glimpses during our semifinal game against Malabo Kings where we created so many scoring opportunities, and we could tell that we found our mojo back. The final proved that when we managed to score two goals in both halves.” Tshabalala lamented.
Despite not finding the net to Tshabalala's liking, but keeping zero at the back meant, Banyana Ba Style stood a better chance of winning their matches than losing. Sundowns won the continental, prestigious club competition without conceding a single goal. The attack is and remains the best form of defence. Modern football requires defenders to attack and attackers to defend. Sundowns style of play is a whirling formation in which players switch positions more constantly. Tshabalala applauded his trusted 'wall of Jericho' for keeping zilch at the back. “We are a very solid side in terms of defending. The experience of Zanele Nhlapho, Andile Dlamini and Bambanani Mbane came in handy for the team. Even in our domestic league, we are the only team that conceded the least goals. We are a team that believes that if you don't concede goals, you won't lose games.” Said Tshabalala.
Leaders habitually surround themselves with people they can trust. The man who entrusted coach Nkosi with the duty of bringing the Champions League title home, coach Tshabalala says, Mbiba deserves the total and rapt attention she continues to get from the public. “It was hard sitting on the stands. I have trusted Agnes. I have worked with Agnes for quite some time. I was not throwing her into the deep end, but if you don't throw her into the deep end now, when are you going to give her that chance to showcase that talent I have been saying that she is talented and can achieve whatever she believes in. As much as it was difficult, I know behind the backdoor I was there with the team, pushing the girls and pushing Agnes as well. It also gave me an opportunity to see the game far better than I usually do.” Tshabalala hailed his second in command
at the Hyundai and Sundowns lounge late last year.
With Tshabalala raring to go and ready to yell instructions from the comfort of the dugout in Morocco, higher authority intervened, and deemed his paperwork to be of yesteryear curriculum. “I had issues with my papers, which at the time we went to the tournament I thought they were up-to-date, but when CAF received them they were deemed to be of the old syllabus.” Tshabalala told ShakingInk.
Though, The Brazilians played in patches in the group phase of the tournament, but saw a massive gear change in the final match. For Mamelodi Sundowns, possession football is the thing, not kick and rush. They are playing a habit football. They can easily find each other by instinct. Sundowns played with a gorgeous, hyper-intelligent swagger in the final match of the competition. The mixture of pace, power, and movement showed Sundowns at their best. A more advanced football civilization. Sundowns' football is a mirror to- and the most interesting expression of, their culture. The women's team has instinctively wedded to the men's side doctrine of relentless attack. Tshabalala says Sundowns success and winning mentality in both men's and women's teams boils down to hard work. “Look at sundowns we are one big family. Every Tuesday and Thursday all coaches from u13 to DDC have their so called weekly gathering. We discuss the way we can improve our teams while we are not shying away from the club's style of play which is shoe-shine and piano.” Tshabalala reveals.
Also Read: We Can Dethrone Sundowns
When Dr Patrice Motsepe became the solo owner of the club almost two decades ago, he made it no secret that, he wants his team to conquer the continent. True to his visionary nature, Sundowns has conquered
the African Safari, not once, but twice. His departure from the club to succeed Ahmad Ahmad at the Caf headquarters in Cairo was seen by many as a great loss at Chloorkop. Though, Dr Motsepe drafted in his son, Thlopie Motsepe as the new man in charge of the club, but the doubting Thomases have already filled papers with ink writing the club’s obituary. Tshabalala says the apple has fallen not too far from the tree. “We are all aware of the previous president of the club' vision, which was to make sundowns a force to be reckoned with in Africa. Slowly but surely sundowns are a force to be reckoned with in men's and women's football. The current chairman is also of a same vision, and he supports all the teams wholeheartedly. His work says it all, you can see now that Sundowns is becoming a big brand globally. We recently partnered with Rocnation, now we are on Fifa. A lot of big things are happening from the club's side.” Elaborated Tshabalala.
Related Piece: We Can Compete Against The Best
A cynical adage has it that it is easy to escalate to the top, but difficult to stay up there. Banyana Ba Style goes into the 2022 Women's CAF Champions League with a defending champions tag. Certainly, a team to beat in this edition of the Champions League. Tshabalala harbours a belief that, his side is capable, of defending the title. “It's not going to be an easy one for us, but what I like about the team is that, we perform better when we are under pressure. We are going out there to defend our title, and we will leave everything on the field of play. For us to be champions again, we got to be tested on different levels.” Tshabalala concluded.
@Lamola_Herold
Comments
Post a Comment