It’s do or die for Sundowns
THE HIGH standards that Mamelodi Sundowns set for themselves in the CAF Champions League is the fuel that has driven them to breaking South African records in the continent’s premier club competition.
The Brazilians are on the verge of reaching the group stage of the Champions League for a fourth time in a row, which would break their record of being the only club in the country with three successive appearances. Sundowns have to beat Al-Ahly Benghazi tomorrow at Loftus Versfeld to achieve that feat after being held to a goalless draw by the Libyans in Cairo last week.
“Reaching the group stage of the Champions League is non-negotiable,” Sundowns’ captain Hlompho Kekana said. “Everyone at the club knows that. We have very high standards. Reaching the group stage is actually a minimum requirement for us. We want to win the tournament for a second time. That’s the driving force. Reaching the group stage is just one small step in the bigger scheme of things.”
This tournament holds a special place in Kekana’s heart. As a 10-yearold he watched Edward Motale lift the then African Cup of Champions Clubs with Orlando Pirates in 1995 to give South Africa their first football continental title. More than two decades later Kekana captained Sundowns to glory in the 2016 CAF Champions League, lifting the prized trophy in Alexandria in Egypt.
“I love the Champions League because of the lessons you learn from it, not just football lessons but life lessons too,” Kekana said. “We travel long distances and spend a lot of time at the airport. That requires patience, something you need in life because there are instances where you have to wait a long time for what you desire. How you spend your time waiting for your ultimate goal has an effect on how you receive and feel about that ultimate goal. The Champions League is the ultimate test. I get excited when I have to play in it because I am facing different opponents who I don’t see day-in day-out like I do with our opponents in the (domestic) league. But even without seeing those opponents a lot, you still have to come up with a plan to outsmart them.”
The Libyan side were a closed book for the Brazilians, which is why coach Pitso Mosimane sent the club’s head of analysis Goolam Valodia to watch one of their games before their clash last weekend. But now that they have faced them, Mosimane and his players know what to expect tomorrow’s in the country’s capital with a place in the group stage up for grabs.
“They are a team that plays good football,” Kekana said. “They were a bit of a closed book for us because we hadn’t seen much of them, whereas they knew a lot about us because we have been playing in this space for the last four years. But with that said, I think that we handled it well. We now know more about them. We know which of their players are a threat and we know how we can close them down. It’s a pretty simple equation for us, we have to win this match to reach the group stage – failing to do that would be terrible because of how high our standards are.” – Staff writer