Will Sundowns’ local form survive CAF clashes?
SUCH has been Mamelodi Sundowns’ domestic form this season that there are those who take it for granted that the Brazilians are going to add a second star to their crest. They are of the view that Rhulani Mokwena’s team is so irresistibly strong that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) should just call off the CAF Champions League competition and hand the trophy to Sundowns.
Can you blame them, when they have witnessed their team saunter to a record 15 successive victories in the DStv Premiership to ensure they will be crowned champions a record six times on the trot?
They have seen their club make such solid signings that those who sit on the bench are good enough to command first team places in just about every club in the league. Sundowns’ strength domestically has been such that they still manage to reign victorious even on their bad days – as was the case against Orlando Pirates last Saturday. Dominance on the local front does not, however, always equal success on the continent, where competition is much stiffer.
As they begin their CAF Champions League group stage campaign with a home clash against Sudanese giants Al-Hilal at Loftus Versfeld today (3pm), the general notion is that Sundowns should bag maximum points and later go on to progress to the knock-out phase alongside Al Ahly of Egypt.
Fair enough, for the Brazilians and the Red Devils are the strongest of a group that also includes Cameroon’s Coton Sport.
It is thereafter that Sundowns’ true mettle is to be tested, opposition at that stage sure to be the equally strong – if not stronger – sides from North Africa whom Sundowns have generally come unstuck against.
Since winning the Champions League back in 2016, the multiple South African champions have found it hard to get past the quarter-final stage – losing there in four of their six campaigns. They failed to get out of the group stages in 2018 and lost in the semi-final in 2019.
It is this seemingly insurmountable quarter-final barrier that Mokwena, who has since been given the sole leadership of the team after sharing the coaching role with Manqoba Mngqithi and Steve Komphela , will have to help Sundowns find a way over.
But it will take some doing, much more than just rocking up for a fixture assured of victory given the knowledge that local opposition will eventually capitulate.
The likes of Wydad Casablanca, who have sent Sundowns packing on three occasions, are wily old campaigners of the Champions League and will be hard to beat.
Ditto for their neighbours Raja, who are no doubt tired of playing second fiddle to Wydad and will be out to claim not only continental glory but the title of being Morocco’s best club.
Mokwena will know only too well the tough task that awaits in the knock-out stages where Egyptian side Zamalek are still itching to get even after the Brazilians beat them to win the title in 2016.
Add Petro Athletic – who sent Sundowns packing last year – to the equation and you realise that adding a second star above the club crest is going to be much more than just a case of pitching up as has been the situation domestically. As it is, we are getting ahead of ourselves, because while Sundowns look strong enough to get to progress from the group stage, Al-Hilal and Coton Sport are not just there to add to the numbers.
The Sudanese outfit are old horses in Champions League football, having made more appearances in the competition than any other side. They played two matches more than record champions Ahly.
Sundowns beat them home and away last time around and they will believe they can do so again. But Al-Hilal are coached by the revered and tactically astute Congolese Florent Ibenge, who was the mastermind of Sundowns’ defeat by AS Vita back in 2016 when they won the competition.
Ibenge has beefed up his squad with two good signings in the form of Ousma Diouf who was in the Senegal team that won the CHAN in Algeria as well as Ghanaian David Abagna.
Coton Sport, finalists in 2008 when they lost to Al Ahly, may appear set to be hamstrung by the sale of their top player Souaibou Marou to Orlando Pirates. But they will be no pushovers, especially in their own backyard where they are likely to play the renowned mind games typical in this competition. Sundowns might just as well prepare for a long and uncomfortable bus drive up to Garoua, unless the Motsepes charter a private jet for them.
In Ahly, they will meet a familiar foe from whom they will probably be happy to get at least a point on the road and possibly even at home. Yet such is their current form that Mokwena and Co will believe they can get six points against Percy Tau and his teammates.
It is a fascinating continental season for Sundowns, who no doubt have the best chance to win a second Champions League title.