2016 CAF Champions League w inner speaks Dow ns sw itch focus to the big one!
W ayn e Aren dse was partoftheMam elodi Sun down s team that brought the star seven years ago.To this day,it’s arguably the club’s biggest success. The big defen der kn ows what is required to go allthe way in the com petition andsayshehasan inkling that this could be the year the Braziliansgetthatsom ewhat elusive secon d star on top of their badge.H e spoke to Soccer Ladum a aheadof the open in g m atchagain st Sudan ese side Al H ilalat Loftus V ersfeld Stadium on Saturday (15h00).
On making a good start
“Obviously whe n you are in the group st age s, you want t o win your first game , e spe cially your home game s as we ll. I t hink t hat ’s what Sundowns are aiming for be cause t he y’ve be e n having a good run in the le ague . The y can hit t he ground running in t he Champions Le ague group st age and not be unde r pre ssure of pe ople chasing t he m in t he le ague . The y are in a good space and I fe e l it will be crucial for t he m t o ge t t hat first win in t he ir ope ning group st age mat ch. The y’ll de finit e ly be going out t he re for t he t hre e point s and t he y have a good chance of ge t t ing t he m. It he lps t hat t he y playe d Al Hilal in t he last t wo se asons, which me ans t he y will have an ide a of what t he y will come up against . But Sundowns doe s t he ir home work be cause usually t he y se nd out a t e am t o go wat ch t he oppone nt s and t he y ge t t he vide os and so on. I’m sure Sundowns will look back at the vide os from last se ason and also look at which playe rs Al Hilal re cruit e d
Iyouspenaoo meon m edia,you’llhave n oticed a hashtag flyin g about am on g the Mam elodi Sun down s supporters,whichis #CAFOrNothing.Sincewinningthe CAFCham pionsLeaguein 2016,the club has fallen short of glory on the con tin en t an d pressure is buildin g upon them todoitagain,especially con siderin g their dom in an ce on the loca lfron t,coup le d withthe ir la te st acquisition s in the form of Ron wen W illiam s,MarceloAllende,SiphoMbuleand BonganiZungu.TheBraziliansbegin their groupstagecam paign thisweekendagainst Sudan ese outfit AlH ilal,a club they are facin g in the group stage for the third season run n in g now.Havingbeaten them threetim esand re g iste rin g a dra w, the So uthAfric a n g ia n ts willbe lookin g to con tin ue their dom in an ce in this fixture,but be warn ed,AlH ilalare n o slouches.Soccer Ladum a’Tshepan g Mailwan e previewstheupcom ingclashandlooksat Sun down s’other oppon en ts in Group B. during t he t ransfe r window and which posit ions t hose playe rs play in. I t hink Sundowns has an e dge and the y have t hat confide nce t his se ason. The y have t hat drive and arrogance t o win, and that’s what you ne e d. You ne e d to show t hat arrogance some t ime s and show pe ople that you are capable of winning the Champions Le ague . Knowing coach Rhulani (Mokwe na), he will give his playe rs t hat courage t o go out t he re and win. I t hink t he y are in for a good run in t he Champions Le ague .”
On the importance of squad rotation
“I think coach Rhulani has done we ll wit h squad rot at ion. You’ll find t hat in almost e ve ry game , t he re are change s he re and t he re . I t hink t hat ’s import ant for t he playe rs me nt ally be cause if you’re not playing as oft e n, you are t he n out of it . But Rhulani has change d it up a lit t le bit t his se ason and has be e n able t o bring e ve rybody in t he t e am, whe t he r you are on t he be nch, coming on as a substitute or st art ing a game . It make s you fe e l part of the mix and that’s good for t he playe rs, e spe cially whe n t he re is a t ight sche dule . It has be e n working wonde rs for t he m and I t hink t he coach is doing we ll. He kne w t he sche dule t hat was coming up and t he trave lling that the te am is going to have , so he ’s manage d t o rot at e t he t e am. That ’s t he space Sundowns live in and t he coach planne d be fore hand. It ’s paying divide nds be cause t he te am is playing we ll and the playe rs are putting up the ir hands. The y are pe rforming and hope fully t he y can t ake t his int o t he group st age s. It will beatestforthem.”
On w hether Rhulani can bring the second star
“I t hink he is capable . He can do it. He ge ts the playe rs going and t he y re spond we ll t o him. The y know e x act ly what he want s and he knows how t o ge t t he be st out of t he m. You could see that e ve n on Saturday whe n t he y score d (against Orlando Pirate s), the whole be nch was up ce le brat ing be cause t he y have one be lie f syst e m wit hin t he st ruct ure . The y have one ide nt it y, one vision, one plan. The y know what t he y want and t he y go out t he re and do it . Whe n t he playe rs buy int o t he philosophy of t he coach, t he n you ge t re sult s. Eve rybody is on t he same page and t he y are re ading t he same se nt e nce . If things carry on like this, the y’ll re ap t he fruit s. Eve rybody is saying Sundowns is unst oppable and no one can argue . The coach is doing we ll and hope fully t he y carry on for t he e nt ire Champions Le ague campaign.”
On Mailula’s chance tomakeamark
“I wat che d him on Sat urday again.
score d one and misse d one , but t he young boy is ge t t ing t he re and scoring goals. He cre at e s as we ll and that just shows how much confide nce t he coach has shown in him. He knows that the coach be lie ve s in him, and he goe s out t he re and e njoys his foot ball. He is playing fre e ly and wit h no pre ssure and t hat ’s t he way youngst e rs should approach it whe n t he y ge t t o t he first t e am.”