Sky is the Limit for Fawaaz Basadien at Mamelodi Sundowns

When the Soweto giants Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs come calling, there are few players that can deny the temptation. 

So, when Fawaaz Basadien finally completed his move to Mamelodi Sundowns, as per Independent Media’s exclusive earlier in the week, over the past weekend it would have hurt the traditional big guns of South African football. 

But the reality was that the biggest competitor to Sundowns for Basadien’s signature had actually hailed from North Africa, according to the Bafana Bafana wing-back’s agent Basia Michaels of QT Sports.

Furthermore, Basadien was keen to explore the prospect of moving abroad. Having interviewed Basadien regularly over the past 12 months, he spoke openly about how much he enjoyed Stellenbosch FC’s Caf Confederation Cup adventures last season, particularly the trip to Cairo when Stellies overcame North African giants Zamalek in the quarter-finals. 

It was Basadien that convinced the club officials to make the trip to the ancient Pyramids to get a greater feel of the culture and history of the Egyptian capital.

It’s therefore no surprise that Michaels stated: "The strongest bid in North Africa came from Al Masry, which was a club Fawaaz was keen to join. I think he himself had done his research and he was excited to join them. But at the end of the day, we go where we put pen to paper and where the price is paid."  

While an Egyptian transfer would no doubt have broadened the Grassy Park-born star’s horizons, Basadien and Sundowns are a perfect fit. 

The 28-year-old has travelled a long and arduous road to the nation’s capital. Although a promising all-round sportsman, who represented Western Province in age-group cricket at national weeks, football was always going to be the choice. 

Reared in a football-crazed household with his father, Mogamat Basadien a former hard-working midfielder for semi-pro-outfit Milano FC, the skilful defender is blessed with good genes and has been in the full glare of the limelight since he was 16. 

A mesmerising performance at the heart of the self-same Milano FC U19s midfield against Chiefs U19s at the Bayhill Premier Cup sparked the initial interest from Cape Town City.

However, Basadien’s time at the Citizens was a frustrating experience with most of it spent in the Diski team, and when he eventually was afforded a professional debut, City could not even bother to print a shirt with his name and embarrassingly used masking tape and inked it on. 

It was the epitome of how undervalued Basadien was at City. 

A move to lower league teams Ubuntu FC and Steenberg United transpired, and it seemed that another highly-talented Cape Town youngster was going to waste. 

It is in these moments that a player’s character is put to the test. Was Basadien simply going to accept his fate? 

It is here when Basadien showcased his dogged determination by boarding a bus in the midst of the Covid-19 virus and headed to Gauteng for a trial at Moroka Swallows. 

With such a committed attitude, there was no stopping Basadien and after two seasons in Dobsonville, Stellies boss Steve Barker came knocking and brought the now polished defender back to the Western Cape. 

The rest is history, as they say in the classics, with Basadien going on to represent the Maroons in over 100 appearances, including captaining them, whilst also graduating to the Bafana ranks.

The move to Sundowns has come just at the right time. While he will forever be grateful to Rob Benadie, Barker and Co, Basadien’s ambitions are greater than Stellenbosch’s at the moment. 

He wants to win trophies and also compete regularly in the Caf Champions League. The same philosophy applied to Masandawana and Bafana captain Ronwen Williams when he moved from his beloved SuperSport United to the Brazilians. 

He will be stepping into an existing, and winning hierarchy at Sundowns and will undoubtedly face stiff competition from Aubrey Modiba, Terence Mashego, Sifiso Ngobeni and Divine Lunga for the left wingback slot, but he has already proved that he will not allow anything - or anyone - to block his path.

The financial impact of the move to Sundowns is also life-changing for Basadien and his young family and he will have the support of his former Stellies teammates Iqraam Rayners and Jayden Adams at Chloorkop.

And who knows he might even win Goal of the Year if he can produce a similar strike to his miraculous long-range effort against Cape Town City last year now that he’s in Sundowns colours? 

The Sky is certainly the Limit for Basadien.