Sundowns have gone to school
AL-HILAL: STUDIED CAF OPPONENTS FROM COVER TO COVER
Mamelodi Sundowns certainly shouldn’t be short of intelligence on the Sudanese side Al-Hilal, when the two teams clash in their Group B Caf Champions League opener at Loftus Versfeld today.
Masandawana co-head coach Rulani Mokwena claims that he and his coaching buddies, fellow co-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi and senior coach Steve Komphela, have studied Hilal from cover to cover in an attempt to take the game to their opponents this weekend.
“We try to be extremely thorough with our preparations and we have got a responsibility to provide the players with as much information as possible. I always say that preparation eliminates fear and if you have a lot of information about an opponent, it allows you to be free and expressive,” said Mokwena.
“We are prepared, we know a lot about the opposition, they are not a closed book.
“We have done our homework and now it is about translating that into what we do on the pitch and see how ready we are against very difficult opponents that can cause multiple problems.
“They can give us problems both in open play and when they construct their play through long balls and set-pieces, because (there) they have got the physical profile to create problems.
“We have principles in the way we play and those principles are always adapted to the profile of the opposition. We have watched their qualifiers like the one against Aante Kotoko,” he added.
Al-Hilal beat the Ghanaian giants Asante 3-0 on aggregate to make it to the Champions League group stages.
Mokwena understands that Hilal will not be pushovers and are also enjoying a good run of form in their domestic league where they are unbeaten in eight games and are lying second on the log, just a point behind the leaders.
“They average about 2.6 goals per match in their local league and ...from a competitive perspective, that already shows you what a good team they are.
“We will have to work a little bit harder in particular, to adapt to their high pressing game,” added the Sundowns mentor.