There are three guarantees in life, death, taxes and Premier Soccer League (PSL) teams threatening to end Mamelodi Sundowns’ dominance at the start of every season.
And the upcoming 2024/25 campaign won’t be any different with Orlando Pirates having already made their intention to end their 12-year-old league drought known.
The season is set to get underway on August 3 with the MTN8 quarter-finals while the league will kick-off on September 10.
All the PSL teams have been living in the shadows of Sundowns as the Pretoria giants have won the league title seven times in a row.
Pirates are one team that has been quite consistent in their attempts to challenge Sundowns in the past seven years.
The Buccaneers have borne the brunt of being the chief bridesmaid to Masandawana four times in the past seven seasons.
They finished third twice and the sixth place was their worst performance during that specific period.
However, the Soweto giants who have excelled in domestic cup competitions under Jose Riveiro are determined to right all the wrongs of the past in the new season.
Pirates player Deon Hotto said the club’s main goals this season are to push for the league title and improve their performance in the CAF Champions League.
“To be honest, we want to go as far as we can in the Champions League and also the (domestic) league,” Hotto told media recently.
“We want to win the league, that’s the most important one.”
In the Champions League, the Sea Robbers were shamefully knocked out of the preliminary rounds by Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana.
The two sides will meet again in the second round of the preliminary stages if they both go through the first round.
Pirates face Madagascar champions Disciples FC over two legs in the first round.
The first leg is scheduled for the weekend of August 16-18 while the return leg is set on August 23-25.
“It’s not about being one of his best players. It’s all about what you do at training because for me to play in this role now it took a lot from me, I had to sit down with the coach.
“Sometimes people don’t understand that when I played at position No.3, Mako had gone for surgery and Maela was also out with surgery, so who was going to play there?
“Were we going to play Patrick or Rele there? I don’t think so because their defensive qualities are not that good.
“The coach said I’m going to play you there and I said ‘Coach, I’m going to give my level best.’ And I believe I have in some of the games.
'He's ready for Europe,' - says Deon Hotto on starlet Relebohile Mofokeng.
— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) July 23, 2024
WATCH full interview ➡️ ➡️ ➡️https://t.co/9SeOVKFUKu pic.twitter.com/NJDRqcE9qo
