On Saturday, Mamelodi Sundowns will kick off their CAF Champions League group stage campaign with a clash against Sudanese club Al Hilal at Loftus Stadium. With pressure to win the continental club competition, Rulani Mokwena, the coach of Sundowns, has managed expectations by stating that the Champions League won’t be given to them on a silver platter.
Champions league is back ,this Saturday in Pretoria Sundowns VS Al Hilal SC the Sudanese Giants Coached by the Congolese Tactician Florent Ibenge . pic.twitter.com/CrDzO3O7bb
— Nyirongo Davies Mulaudzi (@NyirongoDavies8) February 9, 2023
Mokwena told media at a Champions League pre-match press conference held at Chloorkop on Thursday, “We want to do better than we have done the last few years. Do we want to win the Champions League? Of course, we have to work very hard. It’s not going to be given on a silver platter and it might not happen this season, but of course we are going to try to win it this season. But we are here for the long term. You see it with the recruitment, you see it with the way we’ve done things with the promotion of players like Jerome, Cassius, Ntando…we’ve given those kids opportunities. The recruitment also with regards to Allende is a different profile of the age category we are looking for because we are here for the long term.”
Mokwena further added, “The long terms means that every season we need to try to win every single match. Those are the objectives of the club and ours is to try to make sure that every single day we work hard to win the next match and do our best in every competition to win every single competition we take part in. We know how massive the competition is. Every player’s dream is to be part of the Champions League, so we are looking forward to the game. We are looking forward to doing even better. The guys are excited. We have done our analysis and we are looking forward to the game.”
Sundowns will be looking to make history and become the first South African club to win the CAF Champions League. With Mokwena at the helm, the club are determined to make their mark on the continental stage.
