Former Orlando Pirates winger Daine Klate has offered a revealing perspective on why the Buccaneers find themselves consistently behind Mamelodi Sundowns in the league standings.
The Tshwane giants won the Betway Premiership this season, lifting the league title for the eighth consecutive season with Bucs finishing second for the third consecutive time.
Klate identifies Sundowns' shrewd recruitment as their critical advantage over rivals. He stresses that they meticulously profile players before signing them, rather than simply acquiring talent based on current form.
This strategic approach, combined with Sundowns consistently achieving the 70-point mark – a new benchmark they've established for league winners – is, according to Klate, the core reason Pirates can't close the gap.
‘DON’T EVEN THINK OF OVERTAKING SUNDOWNS FOR NOW’
“Pitso left Sundowns in a good space and whoever came in after that, enhanced it,” said Klate on SoccerBeat podcast.
“The players that they bring in, they’ve got a clear profile of player they want, in what position they want. They don’t just go out and sign whoever is in the market.
“They don’t sign a player because for another team, they sign that player because they want him to come and compete with whoever they have.
“That brings about the competition, that’s been the key of Sundowns’ success, it’s the competition within the group and the way the club operate.
“Sundowns have really dominated and it’s difficult for Pirates to catch up and I’m happy to see the progress they have made.
“They came close this year, they can go back next year and look at where they went wrong this season and which games were they supposed to win and which games to keep them close to Sundowns.
“The most important is to come close to Sundowns, don’t even think of overtaking Sundowns for now.
“You know they are on 72 points, we played for 60 something points and won the league. It used to win the league back in the day.
“Sundowns have upped the standard to 70-point mark. Extra ten points is needed to compete with Sundowns”
