HLOMPHO Kekana is a beast in midfield for Mamelodi Sundowns, but when he was handed the CAF Champions League trophy in Alexandria last Sunday, a tear dropped. It was, by far, the greatest moment in his football career. He s won the ’ domestic league title four times, but it has nothing on being an African champion. I even dropped “one tear when I received that trophy because it really meant a lot to me. It s an achievement ’ I can compare to none. It's something we really need to be proud of as Sundowns players, said Kekana. ” We managed to come from “the group stages to see ourselves lifting the trophy. This is something that does not come easily. We went to Dolisie, which was the highlight of our Champions League. I am just excited that I am the captain of Mamelodi Sundowns who won the Champions League. I will cherish this for the rest of my life.”
Kekana, a selfeffacing player who is happy to let his teammates take spotlight, has won a lot of respect for the work he does in midfield, not only as a hard man, but as a distributor and a contributor of goals. It s
’ these qualities that have seen him do well at every club he has played for.
At 31, Kekana has a trophy collection most players dream of and he also has been recognised in the list of nominees for the African footballer of the year award, for players based on the continent.
It s a nice feeling to be “’ recognised as one of the outstanding players. But I am one person who likes to win as a team. It s a special ’ achievement for us. It s a ’ story we really need to tell people about [in future]. As a footballer I have “always been hungry. I have won so many trophies with different teams.” Sundowns success will ’ hopefully inspire the national team Bafana Bafana to start making their mark on the continent. After failing to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, Bafana have an opportunity to qualify for the 2018 Fifa World Cup. They started their campaign with a hard fought 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou and coach Shakes Mashaba is hopeful the presence of Sundowns players in his squad will inspire them to qualify and achieve greater things.