Founded in the 1970s, the team plays its home games at the Loftus Versfeld stadium. The Sundowns Football Club originated around Marabastad, a cosmopolitan area in the northwest of the financial district of Pretoria, in the early 1960s, where it was formed by a group of young people who lived in the area. The club mentions people like Frank ABC Motsepe, Roy Fischer, Ingle Singh and Bernard Hartze as part of its young founding stars. The newly created team was named Marabastad Sundowns in honor of a fan club called Sundowns, which existed in the 1940s, which was also formed in Marabastad.
That same year, 1985, South African football was the first sport in the country to stop being racial and the National Football League was formed, which incorporated the best clubs in the country, including the Sundowns. Dave Barber was in charge at the start of the new era of the National Soccer League, but his tenure quickly came to an end when the club found itself at the bottom of the table and Zola Mahobe named Walter da Silver. Later, Da Silver retired after 5 games before the end of the season, alleging that Mahobe was interfering with the team's selection. Zola Mahobe named Ben Segale as coach, and the team ended the 1985 season successfully by winning the last 4 games to finish in eleventh place, which was a big improvement over their previous two seasons in the top flight.
With Mahobe, Sundown's luck changed for the better when it began fighting for the top honors in the national league. The Sundowns coach, who was spending a lot of money, recruited the services of elite South African players in search of supremacy, and changed his equipment to look like that of the Brazilian national team, which earned them their nickname, the Brazilians. The Sundowns triumphed in 1988, with a victory against Arcadia, a rival from the other side of the city, in the final of the BP Top Eight Cup, and later defeated them again in the Ohlsson's Challenge Cup. Despite winning two trophies that year, problems were brewing in the camp when the players, led by Anderson, demanded the resignation of coach Tshabalala and his assistant Trot Moloto.
Stan resigned his position, with a record of 54 wins, 29 draws and 25 losses. The captain, Mike Ntombela, took charge of the club for four games while management was looking for a coach. That same year, ownership of the club passed into the hands of Standard Bank, which regained the club from Zola Mahobe. The club was liquidated and the soccer family Angelo and Natasha Tsichlas spoke to the bank and saved the club.
Then they formed a company with Abe Krok and bought 100% of the club. This success was followed by a season of heartbreaking losses in 1991, in which the team finished second in the league and failed to reach any cup finals. Jeff Butler was appointed coach in 1993 after being involved in a dispute with Bafana Bafana. He led the club to win its third league title in a hard-fought 3-point race against Moroka Swallows and to finish fourth in the league the following year.
The Sundowns qualified for the continental title for the first time in the 1994 African Cup of Champions Clubs, but lost to AS Vita Club in the second round. In 2001, the Sundowns focused their efforts on continental glory and became the second South African team to reach the prestigious CAF Champions League final by defeating Petro Atlético in the semifinals. The club played in the final of the 2001 CAF Champions League, where it was defeated 4-1 on aggregate by the Egyptian club Al Ahly. In the final, they beat Egypt's Zamalek SC 3-1 on aggregate, winning their first continental title and becoming the second South African team to be crowned African champion.
The club classification is used as the top seed in CAF competitions. Under the tutelage of Screamer Tshabalala, the Sundowns played an entertaining and effective style of soccer that became known as The Shoe Shine and Piano.
Mamelodi Sundowns
has the clear objective of becoming one of the most successful football clubs in Africa, and their recent average and mediocre performances go against this objective. The former Sundowns player, Dan Malisela, must be the head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns FC, as these three coaches don't have a plan B.The Sundowns is owned by South African business magnate Patrice Motsepe and is one of the most valuable clubs in Africa by market value.
