I’m sure they’re nervous

“It will be more than just 90 minutes of football.” “I don’t know why some teams don’t seem interested…”

Mamelodi Sundowns defender, Anele Ngcongca, is enjoying regular game-time so far this season, without any major injuries to worry about. He will be one of the key players that will have to up their game if the team is to achieve their targets set at the beginning of the season. Sundowns have both the domestic Absa Premiership and CAF Champions League titles to fight for. In this interview with Soccer Laduma editor Vuyani Joni, the 31-year-old shares his thoughts on their much-anticipated visit to Wydad Casablanca of Morocco for the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

Vuyani Joni: Gondwe, thanks for taking time to speak to Soccer Laduma readers. What do you make of your personal season so far, having played much more than last season, and that of Mamelodi Sundowns?

Anele Ngcongca: Sure, bro Vee. Personally, to be honest, it has been a good one because I was involved kwi games ezininzi ( in many games), which is what every player wants. I’m happy that I contributed to the club’s season, as uyazi ukuba ben

dikhe ndalimala (you know I was injured) and then I came back and played bit by bit. The coach (Pitso Mosimane) has given me more chances to play and I’m very happy about that. Of course, as a team, we’ve had some ups and downs, like reaching the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League and then losing points we shouldn’t have, in the league, especially at home. Having said that, we’re still marching on because we are still in a good position to challenge for the number one spot on the log standings. Overall, I think it has been a good season despite the ups and downs, like I mentioned.

VJ: Consistency was one of the team’s challenges, especially in the early part of the season. Why do you think that was the case?

AN:

I think… obviously I’m not speaking for the team… it is a mind- set whereby you start to categorize games. You start to prioritise the Champions League over the other games and then you also look at the opposition and think you can have it easy against them. Imagine playing against one of the biggest teams in the continent and then, a few days later, you come up against a so-called small team. Whether you like or not, in the back of your mind you will fall into the trap of undermining the opposition. You play the big team in front of a capacity packed 80 000-seater and then you come home and play in front of abantu abambalwa (few people) … and we are only human. I think that’s one of the challenges we’ve had this season, but it is something the technical team has been working on for a while. We just have to focus more and not fall into the trap of undermining the opposition.

VJ: Surely that’s a basic requirement for any professional?

AN:

Yes, that’s true but, like I said, these things just happen and the technical team has been working really hard to sort our problems out. I mean, if you check our improvement and progress to get to where we are now, both in the Champions League and the Absa Premiership, you’ll agree with me that there’s improvement. Consistency is very important, especially in the Champions League, because the competition is really tough there. You will also notice that we have rectified our mistakes from last season and the previous one. At the same time, we continue to learn and improve as we go along because the coach always emphasises the importance of getting used to playing more games than everyone else in the league. He always says, “When you join this team, you have to know that you will be playing more games than anyone else because we want to win everything and the Champions League is very important to this team.” So, as players, we know what we have to do and we always want to win.

VJ: Right. AN:

We also want to rewrite the club’s history by becoming the only group of players to have won the CAF Champions League, at least, twice in the team’s young history. It is not going to be easy, but we are prepared to sacrifice everything to realise this dream. We are only two games away from reaching the final, so anything can happen. I think if we can remain focussed and with a positive mindset, we can achieve the things we want to achieve in this game.

VJ: While we can’t over-emphasise the importance of getting the points in the domestic league, you will be aware of the challenge that comes with visiting Wydad Casablanca in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final and the growing rivalry between the two teams?

AN:

This is not going to be an easy game at all. We all know what happens whenever the two teams meet. We also know what to expect from the North African teams and I rate Wydad as one of the best teams in the continent. They’re really experienced in this campaign, which is why you seldom find them rushing and they eliminated us in the quarterfinals last season, so we know what to expect from them. This team also took our number one spot in our group, which was something we were not happy about. There will always be that rivalry, but we have it all to do because we have not been able to beat them away from home. As players, we have to start breaking the ice and the voodoo they seem to have over us, because I believe we have it in us to beat them. We are in the semis and we remember that, after knocking us out in the quarterfinals, they went all the way to win the tournament. Now, we are looking to do the same thing this year. It is going to be a very interesting game and we have to get the job done away from home and finish them off apha

ekhaya ( here at home). We will have to be at our best in order to achieve our goals.

VJ: That’s true because they’re not going to make life easy for you guys, at all.

AN:

Like I said, we were not happy to lose our top spot to them, which made life difficult for us in the quarterfinals and the coach was disappointed about it. What I can tell you about this game is that it will be more than just 90 minutes of football. It will be more than just about tactics but a mental war as both teams want to reach the final and possibly win the tournament. At the end of the day, it will be about who wants it the most and I believe we want it more than them. It would be great for us to get a goal or two in the first leg so that we put ourselves in an advantage. They will fill up the stadium with their passionate supporters and I believe we will do the same here. When playing away, you really feel like you are away from home and I wish South African people can understand and adopt that attitude to rally behind any team that represents the country in these tournaments. We will need them more than ever in the second leg.

VJ: We hope to see a repeat of what happened when AlAhly were in town, with the whole Lucas Moripe Stadium painted in yellow. What will be your approach for the first leg?

AN:

First of all, we are very happy to play the first leg away. I see our approach as being an offensive one where we need to score, at least, two goals and keep a clean sheet. If we score, they will be under pressure to do the same, which will be playing into our hands. Our defence has also been solid and impressive, while our attackers have also been getting the job done, so we go to this game with a great deal of confidence. I think we will kill them on transition, with our counter-attacks creating havoc for them because we can do it so well. I’m sure they’re nervous because they know what we are capable of. They saw what we did to Ahly, but I expect the first leg to be more peaceful and professional that the second leg in Egypt, against Ahly. I’m sure the supporters will enjoy this game, while it will be very tense for the technical teams and the players. I’m sure they will be pushing to get a goal or two, which I think might work in our favour. It is going to be a pressure game, but we wouldn’t have it any other way because, like I said earlier, this is what our coach has prepared us for. You look at the UEFA Champions League that everyone was talking about last week, every footballer wants to see themselves playing there one day. Champions League is a big platform because it is watched by everyone.

VJ: You mentioned the UCL and the interest that it attracted even in South Africa last week. Do you think our people, the clubs and players alike, understand and respect our version of the UCL considering how different the level of interests is between the two?

AN:

Eish, teams are different and have their own way of doing things. This is an interesting question, but I can only talk about Sundowns because that’s my team. Here at Sundowns, like I told you earlier, Champions League is very important. We want to be part of the tournament every season. Before I joined Sundowns, I used to hear people talk about the CAF Champions League, but I’m happy to say I have experienced and enjoyed it now. I don’t know why some teams don’t seem interested in participating in the competition, but I feel it would be great for our national team if we had more teams campaigning in the Champions League every year. We are going to AFCON in a few months’ time and I expect Sundowns players to play a major role in that tournament for Bafana Bafana because of the experience we’ve gained in the campaign so far.

VJ: Right. AN:

Imagine if almost 90% of our squad had that experience, we would go really far in the tournament. I mean, look at Lebohang Maboe now. He comes from Maritzburg United, but he’s already been exposed to Champions League football since joining the club and everyone can see the improvement in his game and the benefits of playing in the continent. He’s developed so much in a short space of time because of the hard work done behind the scenes and the exposure to different styles of play. He’s facing some of the best teams in the continent and who doesn’t want that? If we continue to do well, we will face some of the best teams in the world, at the FIFA Club World Cup.

VJ: Before we let you go, the league race is getting interesting, with you guys playing catch-up.

AN:

It is not easy at all, but we are not complaining because this is what we want to do, play more games. All our remaining games are cup finals. Sundowns is no ordinary team and we will give the remaining games everything we have so that we can continue with our mission of being among the best teams all the time. It isn’t easy, but we are managing it.

VJ: Gondwe, thanks for your time and all the best for what’s left of this season.

AN:

Thanks, bhuti (bro). I need to thank our supporters for always coming out in their numbers to support us, we really appreciate it. We will do our best to make them happy and we don’t take anything for granted. ❐ To discuss this interview with Vuyani, tweet him on @VuyaniJoni