Steve Komphela: The Secret I Shared With Ronza Ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup

Komphela shared a private conversation with Ronwen Williams about Sundowns’ deeper goals during their FIFA Club World Cup campaign.

Mamelodi Sundowns could have unwittingly sabotaged their own momentum at the FIFA Club World Cup by trying too hard to showcase an idealistic version of African football.

This comes after the club’s assistant coach Steve Komphela lifted the lid on a revealing conversation he had with goalkeeper Ronwen “Ronza” Williams before their highly anticipated fixtures on the global stage.

Sundowns drew widespread admiration for sticking to their philosophy of building from the back, even when faced with elite European opposition such as Borussia Dortmund.

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But despite their intentions, one critical error highlighted the fine margins in top-level football. Goalkeeper Williams, under pressure but determined to stay true to the Sundowns’ playing principles, attempted a risky pass early in the match.

Unfortunately, it found the wrong shirt, gifting the opposition an opening goal that unsettled the side and disrupted their rhythm.

In an interview with Soccer Laduma, Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso acknowledged the gulf in intensity compared to the domestic game. “We found the level was high, in terms of the speed of the game, where the ball travels faster and spaces close quicker,” he said.

Secret Conversation and a Bigger Mission: Sundowns' Desire to Change Perceptions

It was in this context that Komphela shared an extraordinary insight into the mindset behind Sundowns’ approach, revealing that the team’s ambitions went beyond mere results. Speaking to 947’s MSW, Komphela recounted the profound exchange he had with Williams as they prepared to represent the continent.

“The discussion we had I remember with Ronwen Williams, we said ‘Ronza, we are going there, there’s a technical study group, the likes of Arsene Wenger, Roberto Martinez and all those,” Komphela explained.

“Those people are there to compile a technical report about the Club World Cup for FIFA, what are we bringing on the table, that when we come back to South Africa, as an African team, what is it that we’re leaving on the TSG (Technical Study Group) table that they will remember?”

Far from being only about tactics and results, Komphela described a deeper mission: to show the world a side of African football too often obscured by stereotypes.

“To us that was a deeper concern, a deep desire to say we’ll go compete but above all, what is it that we leave on the table and answering that question, we can look back and safely say, ‘okay we tried to do a definition that actually does away with all the misconceptions about South Africa, about African football, it’s got so many layers,” he added.

This desire to make a statement to the Technical Study Group—and by extension, to global football audiences—may have contributed to the insistence on playing out from the back even when circumstances suggested a more pragmatic approach was needed.

Lessons for the Future: Transition Over Build-Up?

Sundowns’ campaign offered a sobering lesson that elite football is evolving fast.

The notion that slow, deliberate build-up is the ultimate sign of sophistication may be giving way to quicker transitions and verticality.

Komphela’s candid reflections suggest that the club will need to balance their ideals with the hard realities of modern football if they are to thrive on the biggest stage.

Yet even in defeat, Sundowns succeeded in sparking a broader conversation about African football’s identity, ambitions, and place in the global game—a legacy that perhaps will prove more enduring than any single result.