Sundowns a different animal on continent
EVEN the meticulous planner that is Pitso Mosimane, who leaves no stone unturned, can’t comprehend why Mamelodi Sundowns are lions in the Caf Champions League and pit bulls, at best, in the PSL.
Both those animals, the lion and pit bull, are ferocious with a strong bite – but the lion is the king of the jungle, while a pit bull is a domestic animal. The king of the jungle in Sundowns ravaged Al Ahly 5-1 on aggregate in their quarter-final to set up a date with Wydad Casablanca in a match that’s becoming one of the most exciting in Champions League football.
The Moroccan team will host the first leg of the semi-final on the last weekend of April with the return leg at Lucas Moripe Stadium on the first weekend of May. Tunisia’s Esperance will take on TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the other semi.
“I don’t know, I also don’t understand,” Mosimane said in response to why Sundowns are a different animal all together in the Champions League. “Sundowns, maybe, they want to prove a point. It’s never like this in the PSL.
“They know us and they come with a re-enforced defence. For me, I think they (Al Ahly) disrespected us. They probably just said, ‘We are a big team. What team is that? What have they won?’ And I think our performance in the first leg was a surprise to them. It was a big surprise. They are a big team. They never fear anything.”
Sundowns’ 5-0 thumping of Al Ahly in their quarter-final first leg sent a strong message to the continent of their exploits and intentions to win the Champions League for a second time. The two-legged semi-final will be entertaining and gruelling with the remaining teams having won the last four editions of the competition. TP Mazembe conquered the continent in 2015, Sundowns did it in 2016, followed by Wydad in 2017 while Esperance are the reigning African champions.
But before Sundowns entertain the idea of a second star, they have to return to the bread and butter that is the PSL. The Brazilians are six points behind first-placed Orlando Pirates, with three games in hand.
The first of those games is a Tshwane derby against SuperSport United on Wednesday at Loftus.
Three days later Sundowns will visit Baroka FC at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium. Should the Brazilians claim maximum points in both those matches, they will be level with Pirates on 50 points with a game in hand.
Even though the Brazilians have kept up with the leading pack, and even sat at the summit of the league at one point, they are a team under construction with Mosimane still trying to find combinations. Despite that, they have kept up as they look to secure a Champions League place for a sixth year in a row and possibly retain the league title they won last season.
“Sundowns are driving each other,” Bafana Bafana coach, Stuart Baxter said. “Pitso has put together a good squad, they have the right structure and they are driving each other. You only see the quality of Sundowns when they are playing against an Al Ahly, because when they are playing against a normal PSL team it’s obviously hard for them to drive each other. That’s why he swaps the team around and he tries to get someone who has a point to prove. Sometimes we can get it wrong as coaches and it looks flat.”