Mamelodi Sundowns won 36 of the staggering 55 matches they played in 2016‚ their defining year as a club attempting to establish themselves as a global brand.

In keeping with their attacking style of football they drew just five games and lost 14. Of those 14 defeats‚ two came in the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan this month and a further five were on the road competing in continental competition.

These included the 1-0 loss in the second leg of the Caf Champions League final in October at Borg el Arab Stadium in Alexandria‚ which was not enough to prevent victory on aggregate for Downs following their 3-0 first leg win at Lucas Moripe Stadium.

There was also the 2-1 first leg semifinal defeat against Zesco United‚ which Downs won 3-2 on aggregate‚ and the 3-1 away defeat against Enyimba in Nigeria fielding a second-string outfit having already wrapped up progression through the group stage.

Downs lost just seven times domestically‚ including 3-0 in the MTN8 final against Bidvest Wits in early October and on penalties against SuperSport United in the Telkom Knockout semis in the midst of a gruelling schedule having recently been crowned African champions. They lost just five times in the PSL.

One just needs to examine the list of award nominations Downs have received to confirm that theirs has been the best club side in Africa by a clear margin in 2016‚ and perhaps even the best seen in the PSL.

Four players – Khama Billiat‚ Keagan Dolly‚ Hlompo Kekana and Denis Onyango – were shortlisted in the last five as nominees for Caf’s local-based player of the year award. Two – Billiat and Onyango – made it to the last three. Billiat is the overwhelming favourite to win.

Pitso Mosimane was nominated for Caf’s coach of the year. This week the coach was included at 10th on the International Federation of Football History and Statistics’ prestigious list of top club coaches in the world‚ and Onyango in the same position for goalkeepers.

African champions – the first from South Africa since Orlando Pirates in 1995‚ despite the distraction of domestic semifinals; PSL champions‚ smashing their way to a new 71-point record despite the distraction of continental football. And the first southern African team to compete at the Club World Cup (CWC).

The milestones have been reached and passed by like a runaway freight train.

Sundowns’ success in 2016 was the culmination of three years of building a team by Mosimane capable of conquering Africa.

The pre-season camps on the continent‚ the multitude of quality signings from the wallet of billionaire owner Patrice Motsepe‚ the failed‚ fact-finding excursions into continental football all played their role.

So too did the assembly of a technical team – from prodigy assistant Rhulani Mokoena‚ to the quiet presence of the experienced Manqoba Mngqithi‚ to highly-rated fitness trainer Kabelo Rangoaga – the collective‚ modern wisdom of which has not been seen in SA football.

All of which culminated in a fantastic year that Downs and Mosimane hope can even be improved on in 2017.

Not too much more can be said about Downs’ year that hasn’t already been expressed.

They played beautiful‚ classic‚ South African football that harkened to their famous combinations of the 1990s. They might even have been better. They certainly achieved more.

Their small blemish was being found short on pace and quickness of thinking at the CWC by two Asian teams – South Korea’s Jeonduk Hyundai Motors (4-1) and Kashima Antlers of Japan (2-0) – used to playing at that intensity in their domestic leagues. But Downs were not despondent and‚ as they had from their first unsuccessful forays into Africa‚ promised to learn and reinvent and be back stronger.

Mosimane came of age in his defining year maturing into perhaps the first truly international class football manager South Africa has produced. Even he found out at the CWC that‚ like any top coach‚ he still has much to learn‚ and that at the top things just get tougher.

Overall‚ though‚ bravo Sundowns. They have alerted Africa that South African football is not a write-off. They have restored our faith after years of suffering and a slow erosion of belief‚ and have given the supporters of the game in the country hope that there can be more success to come in the future.

Caf’s shortlist of five for the Local-based player for the Year:

Khama Billiat (Mamelodi Sundowns/Zimbabwe)‚ Keagan Dolly (Sundowns/South Africa)‚ Hlompho Kekana (Sundowns/South Africa)‚ Denis Onyango (Sundowns/Uganda)‚ Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe/Zambia)

Caf’s shortlist of three for the Local-based player for the Year:

Khama Billiat‚ Denis Onyango‚ Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe/Zambia)

Caf shortlist for coach of the year:

Florent Ibenge (DR Congo)‚ Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic (Uganda)‚ Pitso Mosimane (Mamelodi Sundowns)‚ Nacer Sandjak (MO Bejaia)‚ Florence Omagbemi (Nigeria women’s national team)

All Mamelodi Sundowns’ results in 2016:

Baroka FC 0 Sundowns 1 — Absa Premiership

Jeonbuk Hyundai 4 Sundowns 1 – Fifa Club World Cup

Kashima Antlers 2 Mamelodi Sundowns 0 – Fifa Club World Cup

Sundowns 4 Free State Stars 1 — Absa Premiership

Ajax Cape Town 2 Sundowns 0 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 5 Highlands Park 0 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 3 Golden Arrows 0 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 2 Kaizer Chiefs 1 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 0 SuperSport United 0 (SuperSport win 3-1 on penalties) — Telkom Knockout

Polokwane City 0 Sundowns 2 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 1 Cape Town City 2 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 2 Polokwane City 0 — Telkom Knockout Cup

Zamalek 1 Sundowns 0 — Caf Champions League final second leg

Sundowns 3 Zamalek 0 — Caf Champions League final first leg

Bidvest Wits 3 Sundowns 0 — MTN8 final

Sundowns 2 Zesco United 0 — Caf Champions League semifinal second leg

Sundowns 1 Chippa United 0 — MTN8

Zesco United 2 Sundowns 1 — Caf Champions League semifinal first leg

Maritzburg United 0 Sundowns 0 — Absa Premiership

Chippa United 0 Sundowns 0 — MTN8

Sundowns 3 SuperSport United 1 — MTN8

Enyimba 3 Sundowns 1 — Caf Champions League

Mamelodi Sundowns 1 Zamalek 0 — Caf Champions League

Zamalek 1 Sundowns 2 — Caf Champions League

Sundowns 2 Enyimba 1 — Caf Champions League

ES Setif 0 Sundowns 2 — Caf Champions League

Sundowns 1 Platinum Stars 0 — Absa Premiership

Medeama SC 2 Sundowns 0 — Caf Confederation Cup

Bidvest Wits 0 Sundowns 1 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 3 Medeama 1 — Caf Confederation Cup

University of Pretoria 0 Sundowns 3 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 3 Kaizer Chiefs 1 — Absa Premiership

Ajax Cape Town 0 Sundowns 0 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 0 Orlando Pirates 2 — Nedbank Cup

Sundowns 2 AS Vita Club 1 — Caf Champions League

Sundowns 2 Jomo Cosmos 0 — Absa Premiership

Polokwane City 1 Sundowns 3 — Absa Premiership

AS Vita Club 1 Sundowns 0 — Caf Champions League

Sundowns 3 Mbombela United 1 — Nedbank Cup

AC Leopards 1 Sundowns 1 — Caf Champions League

Sundowns 1 Bloemfontein Celtic 3 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 2 AC Leopards 0 — Caf Champions League

Highlands Park 0 Sundowns 1 — Nedbank Cup

SuperSport United 0 Sundowns 2 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 2 Chicken Inn 0 — Caf Champions League

Sundowns 2 Mpumalanga Black Aces 1 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 0 Golden Arrows 0 — Absa Premiership

Chicken Inn 1 Sundowns 0 — Caf Champions League

Orlando Pirates 1 Sundowns 2 — Absa Premiership

Free State Stars 2 Sundowns 5 — Absa Premiership

Mamelodi Sundowns 3 Chippa United 0 — Absa Premiership

Maritzburg United 2 Sundowns 3 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 2 SuperSport United 0 — Absa Premiership

Sundowns 2 University of Pretoria 1 — Absa Premiership

Kaizer Chiefs 0 Sundowns 0 — Absa Premiership