Tinkler hopes to save face for battered SA
SuperSport eye first-leg advantage against TP
With Bafana Bafana failing dismally on the continent, SuperSport United coach Eric Tinkler feels that SA clubs are redeeming the nation by earning the respect of their African counterparts.
The Tshwane club will face defending champions TP Mazembe in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup final in Lubumbashi on Sunday (3.30pm).
The return leg is at the Lucas Moripe Stadium next Saturday.
Matsatsantsa a Pitori are the third local team in four years to reach the final of a CAF competition after neighbours Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
“I don’t think TP Mazembe took this team serious when we played them at home [in group stages] because they had no clue who SuperSport United was, but now they know who SuperSport United is,” Tinkler said.
“I think the players, the club and all South Africans are already be proud of what these boys, including Sundowns’ and Pirates’, have achieved.
“We have been saying it as coaches, for years now, that if Bafana are to succeed then clubs need to take the African continent more serious.”
Tinkler will be hoping to be third time lucky in CAF finals after losing the Champions League in 2013 and Confederation Cup in 2015 as an assistant and head coach with Pirates, respectively.
He, however, says winning the R18-million tournament prize money is a taxing task. “People don’t truly appreciate the sacrifice involved, because it’s hugely expensive.
“For me this is much harder than trying to win the Premiership due to what we have to go through.”