Former Mamelodi Sundowns left-back Thabiso Rammile believes his former will dominate domestic football for at least another five years considering their traditional rivals are still some distance away from reaching their level of competing on the continent and locally.
Rammile – now coach of SAB League club North West Signal back home in Potchefstroom – feels this is the greatest Sundowns team that he has ever seen considering they are still in line to finish this season unbeaten.
"This is the best Sundowns team of all time because their results and success speak for them. They are on their way to winning their fourth title in a row and they will win it again next season. I think Sundowns will dominate for at least another five years because those who are supposed to give them a strong challenge are not at their level yet," he tells snl24.com/kickoff.
Sundowns have won the league five times in the last seven seasons, finishing as runners-up in the two years they didn't win it. They have won the Nedbank Cup twice, Telkom Knockout twice then added the CAF Champions League and CAF Super Cup.
View Sundowns' trophy-winning domination and more about Rammile in the gallery above
"When Pitso [Mosimane] left some people thought his departure would affect Sundowns negatively but it hasn't a bit because they are still cruising the same way they were doing when he was still there. These are the fruits of continuity in football because the core of the team at Sundowns has remained the same. Honestly speaking, who is going to stop Sundowns now?
"I used to think that the Sundowns of our generation was good but this current one has proven to me that they are great. This is the best Sundowns of all time and better than the one that won the league many times before us. How do you say this is not the greatest of all time when they have won more than any other Sundowns team? They have bettered what was done before by winning the Champions League, so I say salute to them.
"No need to go on arguing about facts. This team has raised the bar even higher. Have Chiefs and Pirates ever achieved what Sundowns has achieved now winning the league three times in a row after winning the Champions League?," says Rammile, who arrived at Sundowns in 2004 along with Brian Baloyi, Esrom Nyandoro, Josta Dladla, Vuyo Mere, Surprise Moriri, the returning Raphael Chukwu and superstar Peter Ndlovu.
Rammile won all six of his caps during Stuart Baxter's first reign in charge of Bafana Bafana in 2004/05.