The millions of an apartheid-born businessman and the trip to Italy that inspired his tiki-taka: how Mamelodi Sundowns, the surprise team of the World Cup, was built

On the first day they beat Ulsan and on the second they competed head-to-head with Dortmund (3-4), two evenings that have made them one of the revelations of the World Cup . Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa are playing for a place in the last 16 today against Fluminense , but perhaps that's the least of it. Their history, beyond wins and losses, is worthwhile. They have recovered the vuvuzelas from the 2010 World Cup and have a style that in their homeland they call shoeshine and piano , a kind of South African tiki-taka with which they have impressed.

"I warned them, and I wasn't lying. They're powerful and strong, they play an attacking style, they're technically good, and they're very educated in football. They can compete with anyone," said Dortmund coach Niko Kovac after the victory against the Africans.

Mamelodi have impressed tournament spectators with a vibrant display, combining national team players with the talent of Brazilian star Lucas Ribeiro . Miguel Cardoso , former manager of Celta Vigo, among others, is on the bench. They won the 2023 African Super League , organized by FIFA, have won seven consecutive league titles in their country, and won the 2017 African Champions League. A success that would not be possible without two people: Patrice Motsepe and Screamer Tshabalaba .

"He shouted at us: 'Piano,' boys!"

In chronological order, Tshabalaba was the first to be blamed for the historic turnaround at Sundowns. He had been a footballer in the country's old league and then moved into coaching, signing with Mamelodi in 1986, but his apprenticeship took place in Italy. In the mid-1980s, he traveled to northern Italy and visited the training facilities and training grounds of Juventus, Inter, and Milan . He listened, learned, and returned to South Africa with a notebook and a style: shoeshine and piano . Directly translated, it would be something like "shoe shine and piano," but it has its explanations.

During those training sessions in Italy, Tshabalaba kept hearing the word "piano," meaning "slowly" in Italian. This changed his perception of football, which was more frenetic in his home country, and upon his return, he convinced his players to play from the back and play with short passes. "He would shout, 'Piano,' lads! At first, we thought he meant the musical instrument, but then we realized it was to get us to pass the ball with rhythm," explains Go Mabusela , the team's former captain, in a statement reported by FIFA.

Tshabalaba's move saw Mamelodi become league champions for the first time and ushered in a successful few years, boosted financially years later by Patrice Motsepe , a businessman who is now one of Africa's richest men with a fortune exceeding $3 billion , but who started out in Soweto , one of Johannesburg 's most notorious suburbs during apartheid .

When segregation ended, Motsepe started in the mining industry, made money, and ten years later, in 2003, bought Mamelodi . He was a Cruyff fan, so shoeshine and piano suited his idea well. With money from the South African mines, full of gold, platinum, and diamonds, he signed Stoichkov, Cappa, and Neskeens as coaches, thinking he needed stars on the bench to succeed, but time has proven Tshabalaba's style right.

Motsepe has resigned as president of the Confederation of African Football , and his son has taken over the team. The Brazilians , as they are known for their yellow and green jerseys, want to change the reality of African football, which is dominated by North African teams. " We're not going to change the way we play because our opponents seem stronger. We must stay true to our identity," their goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams , warned before the World Cup. And so it has proved.