Can Stellenbosch Topple Sundowns? Barker Weighs In
Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker has weighed in on whether his team can end Mamelodi Sundowns’ ongoing dominance in the Betway Premiership ahead of the start of the 2025/26 league campaign on Saturday.
The Brazilians have clinched a record-extending eight consecutive championships, with the now-defunct Bidvest Wits being the last team, other than Masandawana, to be crowned South African champions during the 2016/17 season.
While the Tshwane giants have asserted their dominance in the league, the Cape Winelands outfit has risen to prominence, swiftly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the domestic and continental stages with consistent progress.
Stellies finished in third place in the past two seasons, emerging as regular contenders for CAF inter-club spots. With Barker’s men looking to move higher up on the table, the 57-year-old tactician downplayed the prospects of launching an ambitious title charge this term.
“There are 30 games in a season, Sundowns are beatable on a one-off game on average. If you look at the players they have and the structure that they have in terms of the resources, if one is realistic, they are the favorites [to win the league],” said Barker.
Despite stating that Miguel Cardoso’s charges are still the favorites to clinch the league title, Barker has not completely closed the door on knocking Sundowns off their perch, reserving hope that the reigning champions can regress.
“But favorites have been beaten in the past. As a coach, deep in my heart I want to win the league, that’s why I coach and that’s why the players play, that’s the ultimate prize – the prize is to win the league,” he added.
“We are going into the season with some kind of deep inner feeling that anything is possible and indeed anything is possible. But as I said, there are a lot of good teams, you have to go your way, you have to have consistency to start the season off well.
“You have to have a little bit of luck here and there, hope that you don’t get ravaged by injuries. So, we have ambitions to win the league with no doubt in my mind, but I do know that to win the league, you also have to progress every year.
“We are showing the right progression; we just have to hope that a team like Sundowns doesn’t get above 70 points. If they are in the lower region, like in the 60s, then anything is possible.
Stellenbosch will kickstart their Betway Premiership season with a visit from Nasreddine Nabi’s Kaizer Chiefs at DHL Stadium on Sunday. Amakhosi completed a league double over Stellies and knocked them out of the Nedbank Cup, en route to winning the competition last season.
