Former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana winger Siphiwe Tshabalala has weighed in on whether Mamelodi Sundowns' success is due to money.
Sundowns have been dominating the domestic league for the past five years and are on course to win their sixth consecutive Premiership title.
There is an ongoing debate on whether the Brazilians' success is due to their big budget provided by owner, billionaire Patrice Motsepe, that has enabled them to buy quality players ahead of other big clubs like Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
Read: Downs Not Giving Up Tau Pursuit
Tshabalala has given his opinion on the matter and says he differs with the narrative that they buy success and that other teams can learn from Sundowns, particularly from their scouting system and their development project.
"Contrary to the statements I would say that we can learn from Sundowns. We can learn from the scouting system, how they run the development structures, the investment in development," Tshabalala told reporters at a Nedbank Cup event.
"And also it's not a team that only buys, they keep on manufacturing players and also promote at the right time, they introduce these players gradually, they don't just throw them in at the deep end.
"I'm not sure but I believe that maybe they are being taken into the induction process, so that they learn, they understand the culture of the team, they understand what success comes with in terms of pressure and expectations. Hence they don't struggle when given an opportunity," he said.
'Shabba' went on and said that it's not about how much you have but it's about utilizing the resources that you have.
"And also it's not about how much money you have, it's about how well you utilize the resources, how well do you invest that money that will also enable you to get good returns," he carried on.
"It's about reinvesting all the time, it's a long-term project. For me I think that's what I like about the whole system that they've created and now they've become an institution," he added.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
