Morena hungry for CAF glory
Sundowns star missed out on club’s recent success
Mamelodi Sundowns all-rounder Thapelo Morena has more reason than most of his teammates to want another CAF Champions League success.
When Morena joined the Brazilians in July 2016 they were already at an advanced stage in the competition and he was not registered to play.
They went on to clinch the African title three months later and he had to watch his teammates collect their winner’s medals.
The 24-year-old now wants his own medal.
“I am looking forward to the competition this year after we fell short last year, when we lost to Wydad [Casablanca in the quarterfinals],” Morena told Sowetan.
“As a team, we just had to get up on our feet and dust ourselves off after that tough period. Now we have another opportunity to find success in the Champions League.”
Morena, though, did play a role in their CAF Super Cup triumph over TP Mazembe in February last year.
The seven-time Premiership champions will face LLB Academic FC (Burundi) or Rayon Sport (Rwanda) on March 6 and March 17 in the preliminary round.
The industrious former Bloemfontein Celtic utility player has blossomed under his pedantic coach, Pitso Mosimane.
Morena said he was prepared from a young age for a stickler like Mosimane because his father, James, is also very strict.
“He [Pitso] likes people who work hard. He is a straight talker. He is like my father; when he does not like something he will tell you. From when I was a youngster our father taught us discipline and hard work.
“I am taking care of myself. I was raised by a very strict father. So there is no need for me to change who I am just to please people.”
Sundowns will take on Cape Town City at the Athlone Stadium on Friday (8pm) in a clash of the Premiership contenders.
Morena has recovered from a dead leg that saw him miss the past three games.
As a firm favourite of Mosimane’s, and given the fact that the team played with makeshift right backs in his absence, he should slot back into the starting line-up.
“When I joined Sundowns there was a lot of comments from people saying that I won’t play and my career will go down from there,” he said.
“I am ready to fight for my place and will continue to work hard.”