Downs’ close shaves becoming tiresome

MAMELODI Sundowns have another impressive yet unsuccessful CAF Champions League campaign under their belt. What’s new, as the South African champions continue to flatter to deceive in the continent’s premier club knock-out competition?

Nothing really, for Sundowns and close shaves in Africa have become common bedfellows; anything different would be a surprise, right?

After all, the Brazilians have flirted with continental glory every year since they won back the title in 2016, so we have come to expect them to always be a fixture of the knock-out stages.

Their inability to go a step further and add a second star to their club crest has been disappointing, given the strength of their star-studded squad and the dominant football they’ve played in the competition.

The latest failure, courtesy of a successive semi-final elimination, this time by Tunisia’s Esperance, is particularly revealing. Sundowns – and their coach Rulani Mokwena in particular – have to learn that the primary objective of the game is to put the ball into the opposition’s net more than they do into yours. Anything else is secondary.

In the 2-0 on aggregate defeat to Esperance, having been beaten 1-0 in Rades and Pretoria, respectively, Sundowns were the “better” team in terms of aesthetics.

They dominated possession, knocked the ball around more beautifully and even created more scoring chances, particularly in the second leg.

This pleased their young coach, who said he wants to play the kind of football that would make his dearly departed grandfather – the late former Orlando Pirates captain Eric Scara Sono – proud.

All good, except that Sundowns did not score.

They lost and once again did not even reach the final. Surely Mokwena has to have a rethink.

A huge fan of European coaches, it is perhaps high time that the selfstyled South African Jose Mourinho took a leaf out of the Portuguese’s book and learnt to play to win.

And he must park the bus if that will deliver the trophy to Chloorkop, as he has promised to do.

The close shaves are fast becoming tiresome.