Mamelodi Sundowns’ record-setting season has already included setting several incredible landmarks with others potentially set on Saturday when they host Cape Town Spurs in their last game of the DStv Premiership season.
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One that is the bag is a new record for the biggest points margin between first and second place in the league.
Sundowns go into the final round of league matches 23 points ahead of second placed Stellenbosch in what is the biggest lead ever in the history of the South African game.
Here SuperSport.com’s a look at the clubs in the past who have enjoyed similar one-sided superiority over the years. These are the years where the league winner has managed to win the league by a margin of five points or more.
1973: Orlando Pirates, who had four different coaches in a single season, as they did the triple and won the league by seven points from the burgeoning Kaizer Chiefs. Pirates won 24 out of their 30 matches.
1974: Chiefs’ first league title came after winning 23 of their 30 matches in the National Professional Soccer League season, with 106 goals scored at an average of more than three per game.
1978: Lusitano, with the wiley Scotsman Joe Frickleton, finished five points clear of second placed Wits University, who were in their first season in the top flight.
1983: With Clive Barker and Butch Webster in charge, Durban City retained their title by five points from Arcadia. This despite a slump in the second half of the season when they lost five out of six games.
1995: Cape Town Spurs were double winners, ensuring their first and only league success by five points over Mamelodi Sundowns. Mich d’Avray was the coach of a side with the likes of Andre Arendse, Shaun Bartlett, Edries Burton and David Nyathi, who made Cape Town a veritable fortress with 13 wins in their 17 home matches.
1997: Manning Rangers were the first champions of the new-look Premier Soccer League and with Gordon Igesund in charge romped to the title, finishing eight points ahead of second placed Chiefs. They won six of their last seven games to leave the opposition in their wake.
1998: Sundowns were five points ahead of Chiefs when the curtain came down on the season. After more than a decade coaching in South Africa, it also marked a first championship success for Ted Dumitru.
2000: The Sundowns dynasty was now truly established as they became the first club to win three titles on the trot, as they ended a new record 11 points ahead of Pirates.
2002: Gordon Igesund won a third title with a third different club as Santos finished five points ahead of SuperSport United. The Cape Town outfit had the league sewn up before their final two matches which they lost, conceding six goals in the process.
2003: Pirates’ winning margin was six points as Zimbabwean coach Roy Barreto took them to the title, with SuperSport again runners-up. Pirates won their opening six games of the season and never looked back.
2004: Chiefs lost only three games as the size of the league was reduced to 16 teams and finished six points above second placed Ajax Cape Town.
2007: Sundowns finished 10 points clear of second placed Silver Stars in a season in which they had 11-match winning run.
2015: Chiefs set a new record of 12 points as they cruised to the title with Stuart Baxter in charge. They started the season with eight successive wins and ended the campaign only conceding only 14 goals.
2016: A record haul of 71 points for Sundowns for a 30-match season and another new record winning margin as they dethroned Chiefs by 14 points. It went onto prove a wonder year for coach Pitso Mosimane and his side as they also took the African Champions League title.
2018: Sundowns ended the campaign five points above Pirates as they marked their third title in five seasons as they began to tighten their grip on the domestic game. Mosimane’s side finished the season without a defeat in their last 13 games.
2021: Sundowns concluded another dominant season 13 points above second placed AmaZulu as they won a record-extending 14th title and became the first club to win four championships in a row. It was the first post-Mosimane success too for co-coaches Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena.
2022: It was new record gap of 16 points between one and two in the DStv Premiership standings as Sundowns finished the season 16 points ahead of Cape Town City, who were finishing runners-up for the first time.
2023: Sundowns equaled the record of a 16-point gap at the top of the table when they easily beat Orlando Pirates. Sundowns finished with 70 points and lost only two of their 30 league games.