Hunt: Bidvest Wits Would Have Halted Sundowns’ Dominance
Durban City coach Gavin Hunt believes that if his former club, Bidvest Wits, were still in existence, they would have broken Mamelodi Sundowns’ long-standing monopoly on the league title.
Hunt is the last coach to win the title with Wits in the 2016/17 season, after which Sundowns took control.
“If Bidvest Wits was around, we would have won the league,” said Hunt. “There is no even a debate, we would have won the league again.”
Wits was sold at the end of the 2019/20 season and rebranded as Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila. “We were the only opposition I thought for them [Sundowns], and that was then,” Hunt added.
Hunt’s current team, newly promoted Durban City, has started the season in impressive form, winning their first two matches without conceding a goal. Their latest victory was a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chippa United at Chatsworth Stadium on Wednesday, secured by a late goal from Joslin Kamatuka.
Hunt Predicts a Closer Title Race This Season
When asked if anyone can break Sundowns’ eight-year winning streak, Hunt suggested that this season presents the best opportunity. He pointed to Sundowns’ demanding schedule, including participation in the FIFA Club World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.
“I think the gap will never be as wide, like 15 or 16 points, because the program that they [Sundowns] have had this year and a half,” Hunt said.
“They still got the quality to win it. They should win it, but it is going to be much tougher.”
He also noted that Sundowns’ players will be heavily involved in international competitions, providing a potential advantage for other teams. “The guys at the top there must be licking their lips, not us [Durban City],” he joked.
“But it’s going to be a big challenge to do it again. But if they do it again, which they can, it will be fantastic.”
Hunt drew on his own experience, noting that a string of successful seasons can sometimes lead to internal contract disputes, which Sundowns is currently facing with players like Lucas Ribeiro Costa, Khuliso Mudau, and Peter Shalulile.
“That happens,” Hunt said. “I always say, winning is good. But sometimes it is not that good, because [you are] forced to change… The league will be much, much closer this year because of the program that they [Sundowns] have.”
