BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
MAMELODI Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena has lifted the lid on the reason the South African Premiership champions decided to sign Zimbabwe international defender Divine Lunga.
Lunga completed his move to the Brazilians last week on a five-year lucrative contract from Golden Arrows to finally end speculation surrounding his future amid links to several clubs both in South Africa and Europe.
The 26-year-old Warriors star is among the four players, who were recently unveiled at the state-of-the-art Chloorkop, Mamelodi Sundowns’ training and administrative facilities.
Sundowns also welcomed Slovakian striker Pavol Safranko, midfielder Grant Kekana from SuperSport United and attacking midfielder Neo Maema, who came in from Bloemfontein Celtic.
According to Mokwena, the cash-rich South African club decided to sign Lunga because of his “ability to perform in big matches” after being impressed by his assured performance against Liverpool’s Egyptian superstar at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
In that game played in front of a partisan crowd at the Cairo International Stadium, Lunga earned myriads of plaudits for marking Salah out of the game which the hosts narrowly won 1-0.
Since that momentous occasion at the Cairo International Stadium, Lunga was linked with a number of clubs in Europe and South Africa before eventually earning a contract at Mamelodi Sundowns.
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Mokwena, who is currently one of the top young coaches in South Africa, said the Sundowns technical team went through a rigorous process of video and data analysis of the Warriors defender before finally deciding to add him to their championship-winning squad.
“For the recruitment‚ we did a lot of analysis with video footage‚ but also with the assistance of data in trying to measure what we have from a numbers perspective‚” he said.
“We also had to look at what do we have‚ and what we need in relation to our playing style. We profiled them thoroughly so that they are able to help us with regards to how we want to play.
“It was also about trying to solve particular aspects of our team.
“(With Lunga) probably his best game was against Egypt where he put Mohamed Salah in his pocket. Those games helped us to profile him and he has the ability to perform in big [matches].”
Mokwena added that Sundowns are also huge admirers of Lunga’s versatility in defence while adding that his international experience with the Warriors would be valuable to the South African football giants.
“Lunga is also the one who ticks a lot of boxes because he is versatile as he can play left centre-half and left-back. He has possibilities of getting into the final third, where his numbers are very good, and he has the ability to create scoring opportunities from wide areas,” said Mokwena as per Sowetan Live.
“His age is good in relation to longevity and his other quality is his ability in dead-ball situations. His height is important in Africa because there you have to be aggressive in the air and in dead-ball situations.
“We are fortunate that he is an international for Zimbabwe, he’s got World Cup qualifiers experience and he’s got the experience of playing Afcon qualifiers in games of consequence.”
A long-time target of Sundowns, Lunga finally made the switch from Arrows on a free transfer ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Lunga spent the past three years at Golden Arrows, having joined them from Chicken Inn back in 2018, and managed a total of 84 appearances.
He has for long been a subject of interest, with Arrows understood to have turned down offers from Turkey and the Middle East in the past.
At Sundowns, the Zimbabwe international will have Lyle Lakay and Aubrey Modiba for competition, with the future of veteran left-back Tebogo Langerman hanging in the balance.
Lunga is also expected to play an important role for the Brazilians in the Caf
Champions League, where they will make an appearance for an eighth consecutive campaign next season.
