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  Mamelodi Sundowns are a South African football (soccer) club that participates in the country's Premier Soccer League. Sundowns are owned by rand billionaire Patrice Motsepe which is the reason why the club is often compared with English Premier League giants Chelsea. The club's nickname, The Brazilians, is a reference to their uniforms, which echo those of the Brazilian national team.
[edit] HistoryMamelodi Sundowns Football Club originated from Marabastad, a cosmopolitan area North West of the Pretoria CBD. The club was originally formed in the early 1960s by a group of youngsters, among them were Frank Motsepe, Roy Fischer, Ingle Singh and Bernard Hartze, to mention but a few, and it became an official football club in 1970. The club was affiliated to the Federation Professional Soccer League in 1973 and the same year reached the finals of the Coca Cola Cup where they played against Berea United and lost 5-3. In 1978, the Federation Professional Soccer League threw their weight behind the then National Professional Soccer League. This meant the end of the Federation Professional Soccer League and the subsequent relegation of Sundowns to the second division. For five years ‘Downs battled to gain promotion and during that period the Sundowns management resolved to disband the club but instead were approached by the late Boy Mafa who bought the franchise for R2000.00, a transaction facilitated by then lawyer, Dikgang Moseneke. This resulted in the club relocating to Mamelodi in the early 1980s. In 1984 South African Football was the first sport to become non-racial and the National Soccer League was formed incorporating the top clubs in the country. Sundowns earned promotion to the NSL in 1985 but in their first season in top-flight soccer, they found the going difficult until Zola Mahobe came on board and appointed Ben Segale as their coach. In 1988, the ownership of the club fell in the hands of Standard Bank, which repossessed the club from Mr. Zola Mahobe. The Twin Pharmaceutical Group, owned by the Krok brothers, then bought the club from Standard Bank. Sundowns enjoyed a golden period of success in the late 90s that saw them pick up three consecutive PSL titles (the PSL replaced the NSL at the start of the 1996/97 season) from 1998 to 2000 as well as being Bob Save Super Bowl winners in 1998 and Rothmans Cup winners in 1999. The club reached the final of the 2001 CAF Champions League, their best performance in continental competition, where they were defeated 4-1 on aggregate by Egyptian club Al-Ahly. In 2003, mining magnate Patrice Motsepe bought 51% shares in the club and in 2004 he took total control of the club by buying the remaining shares and thus became the sole owner and shareholder of the club. Sundowns picked up their first piece of silverware for six years in May 2006 when co-coaches Miguel Gamondi and Neil Tovey oversaw Sundowns’ triumph in the PSL, the seventh league title in their history. After a slow start to the 2006/07 season, Gamondi and Tovey were relieved of their positions and Gordon Igesund took over as head coach. Under Igesund, Sundowns defended their title in emphatic style, running away with the trophy. They failed to win the ‘double’ losing to Ajax Cape Town in the 2007 ABSA Cup final. In June 2009 former FC Barcelona player and Bulgarian international Hristo Stoichkov became manager of the club. [edit] Notable former coaches
[edit] Notable players
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club records
vs Santos (16 August 1998, PSL); vs Vaal Professionals (3 February 1999, PSL)
[edit] Premier Soccer League record
[edit] Club officials/Technical team
[edit] 2009/2010 First team squadAs of December 19, 2009
[edit] On loan
[edit] ForeignersIn the South African PSL, only five non-South African nationals can be registered. Players with foreign and South African citizenship do not count as foreigners. [edit] Official sponsorUbuntu Botho [edit] External links
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