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.”
