Pitso’s tactic is to have a braai
‘I have to balane work and leisure’
MAMELODI Sundowns had a braai. The club’s players, technical team and even coach Pitso Mosimane, who has been to braais like the Grinch is to Christmas, had that braai on Christmas Day in Algeria – thousands of kilometres from home.
Mosimane did this to appease the players who take on USM Alger tonight at Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Algiers, in their third match of the CAF Champions League group stage. Before Sundowns flew to Algeria, right after they won the Telkom Knockout – Mosimane threw a jibe at his rivals that they are having a braai while the Brazilians are busy balancing their continental and domestic ambitions.
“I had to balance work and leisure,” Mosimane said speaking from Algiers. “I had to respect that it was Christmas. What do I do? I had to make sure that my players don’t miss the theme of Christmas Day because if I don’t address that, I can’t expect that everything will go the way it should. The balance was ensuring that the players train with the right mentality and attitude, but I also had to make sure that we have Christmas celebrations.
“What we did was to get a programme that’s a win-win. We trained and then we had a braai when we came back from training. We had turkey, so that we address the theme of Christmas. Thankfully the hotel supported us with the celebrations even though the religion is different here to what it is back home.”
The club then had to get back to work after enjoying their Christmas celebrations on
Wednesday. Mosimane is looking to ensure that Sundowns come back with maximum points, at worst a draw to keep their place at the top of Group C. The back-toback matches against USM Alger, with the return leg on 11 January in Pretoria, will go a long way in shaping Sundowns’ position in the group.
“We have to do what we have to do,” Mosimane said. “USM Alger are a very strong team. Their attack is strong. We are aware that both their wingers are left-footed, which means one of them is going to cut in and the other one will stay on the left. The players are aware of this. We expect what we normally get in north Africa, what we have seen when we were playing Wydad (Casablanca), Al-ahly and Esperance.”
The Brazilians have a knack for troubling north African opponents, through their skills and bold approach. They have visited these parts before and troubled giants, including Al-ahly and Zamalek who they beat to win the 2016 Champions League. USM Alger, though, are a fallen giant not on the level of continental heavyweights like Wydad and Egypt’s Red Devils.
“What’s important is that Sundowns must play the way they play,” Mosimane said. “If we can do that, we can come out with a good result. A good result will be a win, but I always say that if you don’t win away you must get a point.”