This Saturday, Mamelodi Sundowns will face a formidable opponent in Al
Hilal, coached by the experienced Florent Ibengé. Ibengé, who led DR Congo
to a third place finish in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, guided Moroccan
side RS Berkane to victory in the CAF Confederation Cup last season,
defeating Orlando Pirates in the final. He also won the Moroccan Cup,
overcoming Wydad Casablanca in a penalty shootout.
Ibengé brings a wealth of experience to the table, having guided AS Vita
to the CAF Champions League final in 2014, where they lost to ES Setif. He
has made an impressive start to his tenure with Al Hilal, as they
currently sit top of the league standings.
🚨 NEXT GAME 🚨
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS VS Al-Hilal
📅 FEB 11
⏰ 15:00
🏟️ Loftus Stadium
📺 SS Variety 3 208
🎟 Free Entrance if Wearing Yellow or Any Sundowns regalia 💛💚💙👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾#CAFCL #Sundowns pic.twitter.com/D6S3drlLTK— BRA_O WA LE SANDAWANA👆👆👆👆 (@Owen_sandawana) February 9, 2023
Mamelodi Sundowns have been in good form in the DSTV Premiership, but the
clash against Ibengé’s side will be a stern test for Rulani Mokwena, who
is in his first season as head coach of the South African side.
“I’ve got big respect for Ibenge. I first met him when we played Vita a
few years ago. I was still the assistant at Mamelodi Sundowns and to see
how his career has progressed and how he has done exceptionally well as an
African coach is something that brings a lot of motivation and gives a lot
of pride and gives good inspiration,” Mokwena told media at Chloorkop
ahead of the match.
“But as I always say, we give too much importance to coaches in South
Africa and I don’t think we are that important. The game belongs to the
players and, at the end of the day, it’s 11 versus 11 on the pitch. It’s
the Sundowns players versus the Al Hilal players and those are the people
everybody pays money to come and watch.”
Mamelodi Sundowns will look to get off to a positive start in the CAF
Champions League when they face Al Hilal at Loftus this Saturday
afternoon.
