Mamelodi Sundowns star Thembinkosi Lorch faces one of the most important seasons in his career in 2024-25, writes Mazola Molefe.

The night before landing in hot water over a video of him appearing intoxicated while dancing with two women, Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Thembinkosi Lorch had spoken to SoccerClub about the future.

During the celebrations of his new club’s DStv Premiership triumph at Loftus Stadium on the final day of the 2023/24 season, the ex-Orlando Pirates talisman reflected on a rollercoaster campaign that began with a court case.

Lorch, 30, was handed a suspended three-year sentence for assaulting his former girlfriend and subsequently sent for anger management by the Buccaneers before the Soweto giants sold him to their Tshwane rivals in January.

Following a somewhat impressive six goals and three assists in 20 matches for Sundowns in the short time he’d been there, Lorch finished the campaign on a sour note when he didn’t feature in their last three matches.

The official word from coach Rulani Mokwena, who had expressed disappointment that the player had “gone live” on his Instagram account while partying, was that Lorch had been injured and “removed from the group” ahead of the Nedbank Cup final.

Sundowns lost 2-1 to Pirates in Mbombela with Lorch watching from home.

But some murmurs suggested the Bafana Bafana international was being “punished” by Sundowns for bringing the club into disrepute, although there is no proof of these reports as the club did not make any further comments in addition to what Mokwena had told Metro FM and the media that same week.

In his interview with SoccerClub before the incident, Lorch was upbeat about what would be his first full season with Sundowns having arrived in the middle of the previous one.

“I want to thank coach Rulani and the chairman of the club for bringing me to this team. The season wasn’t easy, especially having come here in January – you have [to be given time] to adapt. The style of play is different to where I came from,” he said.

“But I came here knowing that I only need one trophy, which is the DStv Premiership, and I am happy about that. I worked with coach Rulani before at Orlando Pirates, so it wasn’t that difficult for me to adapt.”

Shortly after he was unveiled as a Sundowns player, the club shared a clip of Mokwena and Lorch going through a training drill, with the coach excitedly shouting, “Yes, this is the Nyoso [Lorch’s popular nickname] I want!”

The attacker was crowned Footballer of the Year in 2019, the season when Pirates finished the campaign as runners-up to Sundowns during a tight contest for the title with Mokwena the assistant coach to Micho Sredojevi.

Mokwena pushed to sign Lorch in January fully aware his contract was in the final months and Sundowns would get away with paying a cut-price fee. “I don’t think people have seen the real Nyoso this past season,” insisted Lorch.

“They are still going to see him next season. I think being with the team from the start of pre-season will make a huge difference. “I will be able to understand my teammates better. I didn’t have enough time to do that considering when I was signed.”