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Pitso Mosimane expects another close game against Wydad Casablanca when Sundowns open their Caf Champions League group stage campaign against these familiar Moroccan opponents tomorrow evening at Loftus Versfeld.
Masandawana took on Wydad at the quarterfinal stage of the competition last year, losing on penalties after both teams won their home legs 1-0.
“Penalties are also part of the game, but let’s be honest, we were terrible with those penalties,” said a frank Mosimane.
“But we were also let down by the Ugandan assistant referee here (in the first leg), when he ruled Percy (Tau) offside three times. At Wydad they pinned us down, the only time we had a chance to come back was in the second half, when we had nothing to lose. We played better, but we respected them too much in the second game.
“Playing Wydad is like playing Esperance (of Tunisia), it is always 0-0, 1-0 or 1-1, whoever scores first is the one you can say is going to win, it is very tight.
“I have been monitoring them (Wydad). They were on a low, but they are coming back, they haven’t lost a game in about 14 matches. They changed coach, he (Faouzi Benzarti) used to coach Esperance. That coach is a legend, he has coached everyone in North Africa.”
Benzarti, indeed, has coached extensively across Tunisia, winning the Champions League with Esperance in 1994 and reaching the final with the same team in 2010. He has also coached Wydad Casablanca’s great rivals, Raja Casablanca. Benzarti was appointed Wydad coach on January 20 and has won 10, drawn four and lost just two of his 16 games in charge thus far.
Wydad have lost one of their last 14 matches, but that was a 2-0 defeat at the Ivory Coast’s Williamsville in the play-off to reach the Champions League group stages, when Wydad were already 7-2 up from the first leg at home.
Mosimane, meanwhile, says he will play the departing Khama Billiat as his No 9 tomorrow, with top goalscorer Percy Tau out suspended.
Billiat is, however, set to leave Sundowns when his contract expires at the end of June.
“At least we have Khama to replace Percy, he (Khama) can go back to his number nine position, when he was scoring (regularly), he was our number nine,” added Mosimane, who, other than Tau, says he has a full squad to select from for tomorrow’s match, with defenders Wayne Arendse and Bangaly Soumahoro back in training after injury.