Mosimane keen to test Downs’ global status
Busy African champions will face world’s best in Fifa’s Club World Cup in Japan
Bring the trophy inside. Pitso Mosimane instructed a Mamelodi Sundowns official to fetch the Caf Champions League silverware so that he could enter the Borg el-Arab Stadium auditorium with it.
The Sundowns’ coach didn’t want to be far from the biggest prize in African club football. He’s been obsessed with it since he started his coaching career at SuperSport United. But at Sundowns, who lost in the 2001 final, it was a dream that he shared with the club president Patrice Motsepe.
The billionaire businessman didn’t just say that he wanted his club to be African champions, but he also invested in it, with Mosimane driving that vision. Sundowns spent most of their pre-season outside South Africa under Mosimane, travelling from Nigeria to Ghana, then to Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
That was to prepare the players for the conditions of the Champions League. Coincidentally, to reach this year’s final Sundowns had to travel to Zambia in the first leg of the semi-finals to face Zesco. Familiarity helped them overcome that hurdle. And now that Mosimane has tasted what it’s like to be an African champion, he has his sights on bigger things.
“Japan in the Fifa Club World Cup is next. There is also the Caf Super Cup (against the winner of the Caf Confederation Cup final between TP Mazembe and MO Bejaia). Let’s go,” Mosimane said.
“Let’s find out where we are in global football. We will know where we are because we will be playing against the people who have won their continental competitions. It will give us a good measurement to see where we are.”
It was evident that Mosimane had his eye on the future, taking into account the squad he took with him to Alexandria for Sunday’s second leg of the final. Thapelo Morena, Yannick Zakri, Samuel Julies, Ricardo Nascimento, Sibusiso Vilakazi and Anele Ngcongca, who is injured, were there to soak up the atmosphere and prepare themselves for next year because they weren’t registered for this year’s tournament. Some of these players were also there to prepare for the start of the Brazilians’ Telkom Knockout title defence against Polokwane City on Thursday. Sundowns arrive home tomorrow. Yesterday the Brazilians recovered in Cairo, where they were to train today before flying out tonight. It’s a tough balancing act...the congested fixture list shows how challenging competing simultaneously on the domestic and continental fronts is.
“I believe that any team that plays in the Champions League or the Confederation Cup, and you really want it, pays a heavy prize,” Mosimane said. ALSO INSIDE: Extra Strong football, P26 Conte shrugs off Jose, P27 Ajax need a win, P27
“You get injuries. We lost the league last year because of this Champions League. We lost the Nedbank Cup to (Orlando) Pirates because of this year’s Champions League. We dropped two points against Maritzburg United this season because we were focusing on the Zesco (United) game (in the semi-final). If you win, it’s really worth it,though.
“I would also like to thank Wits and Gavin (Hunt) for giving us a wake-up call in the MTN8 final. If we had won that cup, maybe we could have dropped this one. That loss gave us a little bit of humility. We were humbled. As a coach I can’t ask for more. This was the only trophy that I hadn’t won. I can go home and say that at least I have contributed to South African football.”
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