I AM not a fan of humble pie and I would be extremely surprised if anyone is. This week - no, for some time now, actually - I have been forced to swallow large servings of this bitter-sweet pastry by one third of the Mamelodi Sundowns “CBD”, striker Leonardo Castro.
In case you have missed some scintillating football from the current Absa Premiership log leaders and haven't seen the Colombian forward - who has formed a deadly combination with Khama Billiat and Keagan Dolly - in action, it is only my pleasure to fill you in.
Nom nom! That’s the sound of me taking a huge bite from the humble pie Castro delivered to my doorstep on Wednesday night when the Brazilians tore Orlando Pirates to shreds in a 2-1 victory at Orlando Stadium to maintain their 19-game unbeaten run.
The scoreline suggests the Buccaneers were somehow in it.
Far from it, to be honest.
While Eric Tinkler’s men put up a fight later in the second half, Castro, Billiat and Dolly had already done enough damage earlier on. But it is the 26-year-old from Bogota who has caught my attention since his arrival in South Africa five months ago. There were doubts about Castro during his trial stint under the watchful eye of coach Pitso Mosimane, and this, naturally, influenced my judgment.
Sundowns had already brought in Burundian hitman Abdul Fiston Razak, who had made a name for himself scoring crucial goals for his national team during the preliminary rounds of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Gabon.
The club also had the reliable Cuthbert Malajila in their squad and Castro was only seen as back-up in a season where Sundowns would compete on all fronts as far as the domestic and continental competitions were concerned.
That Castro would have nine goals in 17 matches - coming off the bench in some of those matches - was not in the script.
Expectations were already high for Billiat and Dolly, who joined Sundowns at the start of the season from Ajax Cape Town.
But Castro? To me he was just another journeyman who failed to make the grade in his home country and looked to cash in at Chloorkop, where it is no secret owner Patrice Motsepe could make you a rich man as a player if you stick around long enough.
I was at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on September 23 last year when Mosimane handed Castro his debut in the yellow and blue jersey. Surely this was a bad call from the former Bafana Bafana mentor, I thought.
Mosimane was under pressure from club supporters at the time, having lost back-to-back league matches.
Castro did little to convince me in his 20-minute cameo despite the Brazilians winning 3-2 on the night. But this was the beginning of their unbeaten run, which included a Telkom Knockout cup win in December over Kaizer Chiefs. Castro scored the opening goal in the 3-1 thumping of ‘cup kings’ Amakhosi.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
The man apparently enjoyed a somewhat telepathic understanding with Chelsea’s Radamel Falco, whose struggle with injuries has set his career back, in the national team.
I could not find proof the two actually played together to form a potent strike partnership, but I wouldn't find it hard to believe now that Castro has become the key man at Sundowns.
Well, he is one of many match-winners Mosimane has relied on so far thisseason.
He might have scored nine goals thus far, but both Billiat and Dolly have him to thank for their own tallies as well.
Between them they have rattled the net 22 times, terrorising opposition teams, who can't seem to find an answer to their movement off the ball.
Even when on the ball, no team seem to have figured out just how to close down CBD.
These guys are sharper than a machete, and one commentator was spot on about Castro when he said, “he simply cut through the defence like a hot knife through butter to set up a goal in Sundowns’ 5-2 humiliation of Free State Stars last week”.
And we still have three months of football in the offing. Nom nom! – Saturday Star