Mamelodi Sundowns’ captain Themba Zwane lifting the African Football League trophy.
Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

• The Brazilians’ captain led the club to their first major international title since 2016 when they won the African Football League on Sunday.
• Zwane has now set his sights on winning the Champions League and Afcon.
• His coach, Rhulani Mokwena, is full of praise for his captain – listing a number of players who improved at Sundowns because of Zwane.
• For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport page.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ captain, Themba Zwane, now wants to conquer the continent with club and country after leading the Brazilians to winning the inaugural African Football League (AFL). 

Zwane, along with Dennis Onyango, are the last remaining players of the class of 2016 that won the CAF Champions League with Sundowns in Egypt. That victory saw Sundowns join the big boys’ table in African football.

The club’s stature and standing has risen every year in the continent since then, but they have struggled to add a second star to their crest. Due to their dominance in Africa, they were part of the eight top teams in the continent that were invited to take part in the AFL – CAF president Patrice Motsepe and FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s pet project of an African super league.

The tournament was scaled down to eight teams from the original idea of 24 clubs due to logistical challenges and finalising most of the tournament components when leagues in the continent were already in full swing. 

Sundowns went past Petro de Luanda in the quarter-finals, humbled Al-Ahly in the semi-finals, and then avenged their previous defeats at the hands of Wydad Casablanca to defy the Moroccan giants and lift the AFL trophy in front of a packed Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday.

The cash injection of the $4-million prize money will do the players a world of good as Sundowns’ policy is for 100% of the winnings to go to their players and technical team. But more than money, what Sundowns gained from this competition is exorcising the demons of teams that have haunted them in the Champions League, denying them the chance to add a second title to their name. 

“I want to win the Champions League again and obviously win something with the national team. There’s Afcon (African Cup of Nations) coming. If I can get that one, I would be happy,” said Zwane. 

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Bafana Bafana assembled in camp on Sunday ahead of two crucial FIFA World Cup qualifiers this week. The team will take on Benin in Durban on Saturday and then travel to Butare to face Rwanda on Tuesday 21 November. These matches will also help coach Hugo Broos finetune the team ahead of next year’s Afcon that will run from 13 January to 11 February in Ivory Coast.

Bafana have been grouped with Tunisia, Mali and Namibia. Zwane had to defy age and scepticism from Broos to become a regular in the national team set-up after the Belgian left him out of his first squad when he took over the team last year, citing Mshishi’s age.

The 34-year-old took that criticism in his stride, continued to dish out consistent performances for Sundowns – leaving Broos with no choice but to eat his words and recall Zwane to the national team. Zwane never threw his toys or made noise about his exclusion.  

The Sundowns’ captain is a soft-spoken leader, but with his feet he is loud as they come.

“I have nothing but respect for Mshishi,” said Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena. 

“Not only is he a demonstration that you have to be a top human being to be a top football player, but he is also demonstrating that you don’t have to be loud and aggressive to be a leader. You can lead through demonstrating by effort and by being a positive influence, not only on your age group but even with the younger ones. 

“You must see how he interacts with (Siyabonga) Mabena and (Thapelo) Maseko. His influence on Cassius (Mailula) last season, a lot of people think that I helped Cassius improve – Mshishi helped Cassius improve more than I did. Mshishi has helped Peter (Shalulile) improve more than I have. He is an amazing human being.” 

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Sundowns’ success in the AFL is largely due to Zwane’s sacrifice. With most of the club’s strikers injured, Zwane was asked to play as a false No 9 – to hold up play and link up with his teammates. His 17 goals in the Champions League makes him the most prolific South African in the tournament, so it wasn’t a wild request.

But while Zwane’s sacrifice helped the team, his own performance in the AFL suffered. 

“It’s been difficult, but obviously I need to respect the coach’s decision and help the team,” said Zwane.

“That’s my duty. With the help of the guys, I was trying to push myself and the guys were supporting me. For me, it’s all about the team.”

Mokwena leapt to Zwane’s defence.

“Themba Zwane has come under a lot of undue criticism for the performances, in my opinion he has been fantastic,” said Mokwena.

“I am asking a 34-year-old to play in a different orientation. Imagine, for the last 10-to-15 years he has been playing as a 10. As a 10, his orientation on the pitch is this way, towards the goals. Now all of a sudden, the coach says, ‘Hey, I need you to play as a 9.’ His back is now towards the goal. 

“For a player of his magnitude, stature and the leader that he is, to humbly accept to play in a different position where you are asked to do different things than you are normally asked shows the amount of humility and his character.

“Now you understand why in the last 14 years he has been one of the best players in South African football because of his human qualities. I think he has been amazing. He has run his legs off.”

Zwane’s biggest talent is his ability to fit in everywhere. He is a big brother to the young players and an influential figure for the experienced players. It’s one of the reasons why he is a popular figure at the club. Part of his duties is helping players assimilate to the team on an off the pitch. 

It’s very important to interact with everyone in the team,” said Zwane. “I try my best. Whenever new guys arrive, I try to learn how they play and try to build that brotherhood because I know for sure that it’s going to help us in games.”