AmaZulu FC coach Arthur Zwane has revealed why his side viewed Orlando Pirates as a bigger threat than Mamelodi Sundowns this season.
Usuthu have spent most of the campaign hovering around the top six as they push for continental qualification, and currently sit fourth on 42 points after 26 matches.
- ALSO READ: Zwane On Position 3 Prospects After Setbacks
- Zwane Reveals Key Player Ruled Out for Six Months
Zwane explained that thorough analysis of all teams shaped their expectations, noting that Sundowns’ demanding schedule—including the FIFA Club World Cup, CAF Champions League, and domestic competitions—could slow them down.
Moreover, most of their key players play for Bafana Bafana, took part at AFCON and are now preparing for the FIFA World Cup. As a result, he believed Pirates would be the most dangerous challenger.
“We planned very well in terms of looking at other teams, how we can capitalise. And we knew that this season, the team that’s going to cause problems will be Pirates,” said Zwane.
“Players, they will tell you because we had to analyse every team. We knew that a team like Sundowns, they’ll be having players that are going to be in the World Cup squad. Plenty of them.
“Their team went to the Club World Cup. And their players were going to compete in the Champions League. And that is why when you watch Sundowns, they no longer play football with tempo, they manage now. I don’t know if you’ve noticed.
“But Pirates, they come at you like nobody’s business. So now we needed to look at ourselves and say, who do we think we can go for? Where do we fancy our chances?
“Take nothing away from the group that we have assembled. But this is one season that was there for many other teams to capitalise if they planned very well because World Cup was going to help them, obviously, to take a lot from Sundowns.
“And that’s why Sundowns, they had to now do what? They didn’t care about Nedbank Cup. Now you can imagine, Nedbank Cup, Champions League, their players are going to the World Cup. They’re going to die. And now we had to target all the teams.
“Then we said, the only team that’s going to give us a problem, it’s Orlando Pirates. When you look at how they assembled their squad, the players, how they beef up their team, and player for player, all those players, they play with high intensity, in a structure, very solid structure, very dynamic.”
Did you know that the iDiski Times Digital Newspaper is completely free! Download it now by clicking the button below or fill in the form to have it sent to you every week.
