Basadien Opens Up On Sundowns Turnaround And Bafana Recall Under Mosimane

Mamelodi Sundowns defender Fawaaz Basadien has acknowledged that the past few seasons have not gone as he had hoped, but says maintaining a positive mindset and believing in himself have kept him pushing forward.

Basadien joined Sundowns last season after establishing himself as a regular starter at Stellenbosch. However, he faced strong competition for the left-back position, which limited his opportunities.

The Bafana Bafana international struggled for regular game time last season and subsequently lost his place in the national team.

This season, however, has been a more positive one for Basadien. Miguel Cardoso has shown greater trust in the defender, giving him more minutes on the pitch. His increased involvement at club level has also earned him a recall to the Bafana Bafana squad under new head coach Pitso Mosimane.

“It means a lot to me,” said Basadien, who came on in the second half during Sundowns’ 2-1 victory over Al Ahli in the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday.

“You know, the past seasons haven’t been the greatest in terms of how I wanted to improve. As I said before, it was important for me to keep a positive mindset and believe that eventually things would go my way.

“It’s a matter of believing and just keeping a positive mindset. I’m just happy that I could go on the podium and receive a medal, knowing that my brother Jayden would have loved to put on a battle as well. I think we did this one for him.”