On Thursday, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Hugo Broos revealed why his team have not won the CAF Champions League since 2016, despite their sustained local dominance. Speaking at a press conference to announce his 23-man squad for upcoming international friendlies against Ivory Coast and Eswatini, the Belgian coach attributed the lack of success on the continent to the lack of competition in the Premiership.
“First of all, I think we will have the same season like the season before and the season before – Sundowns will be champions. We see they are 10 points ahead and we have played eight or nine matches, so they’ll win every game. They didn’t lose one point,” said Broos.
The coach also expressed his disappointment in the performances of the two biggest teams in the PSL, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, saying that they have not been able to provide the necessary competition to push Sundowns to their limits. “When I see Chiefs and Pirates who normally have to be the biggest opponent of Sundowns, it’s not what we expect from those teams. The quality of the PSL is not increased, it stayed the same. Sundowns are dominating and the others try to follow, but they can’t follow, which is not good for South African football and it’s not good for Sundowns.”
Broos went on to explain that the lack of competition in the local league has been a major contributing factor to Sundowns’ lack of success in the CAF Champions League. “They were in the quarter final [of the CAF Champions League] two seasons ago and they were in the semi-finals last year and I think one of the reasons why they can’t go to the final is because the opponents every week is not strong enough. When you see the [UEFA] Champions League in Europe, you see all those big teams from Spain and England, they are in the final of the Champions League because every game they have to go for 110% to win the game.”
