Cape Town - The CAF Champions League quarter-final round has turned out to be a graveyard for Mamelodi Sundowns over the past three seasons.
After winning the Champions League in 2016, Sundowns have not progressed beyond the quarters in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons despite their glowing form in the group stages.
After the team’s slump on the domestic front in the past three weeks, Sundowns will have to rediscover their scoring touch tonight in their first leg encounter against Algeria’s CR Belouizdad at the 40 000-seater Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers.
The slump, which was highlighted by last week’s shock Nedbank Cup exit, has not deterred coach Rhulani Mokwena from declaring that Sundowns are still a force to be reckoned with.
“We do not want to become familiar with losing,” said Mokwena.
“Sundowns are the gold standard of South African club football. We are by far the best team in the country.”
This season Mokwena has repeatedly made the point that there is little CAF Champions League experience in the squad. Most of the players are playing Champions League for the first time, and since there is constant team rotation, very few players have played all the group stage matches.
“We find ourselves in a moment of transition and though seemingly seamless and easy on the eye, the make-up of the squad is that they have less than 200 Champions League appearances together,” said Mokwena.
“A lot of players on the pitch are playing their first Champions League with the pressure of having to win. We must be fair and patient with the group. They must be given fair opportunities to make their mark, write their history and create their legacy.
“We must remember that the squad that delivered the Champions League (in 2016) had tried and tried.
“So, let’s give these a chance to have their football history. This team will eventually win the Champions League. When will it happen? I won’t play God, but I know that every day we work towards this objective.”
Playing at the Algiers venue named after the South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is special for the South Africans, however Mokwena urged his players to “play the match and not the occasion”.
“It is an incredible honour, a privilege to be able to put our foot in a stadium that is named after probably one of the greatest South African human beings,” said Mokwena.
“Even though Mandela’s humility would never have allowed us to say that, he made an incredible contribution to who and what we are as South Africans.
“I think for sure, there’s going to be an opportunity to demonstrate our appreciation and maybe even the emotional connotation attached to playing at a stadium named after him but let’s play the match and not the occasion. Part of the occasion, of course, is the name of the stadium but the biggest focus for us is the match, 11 vs 11 and do the best we can to pull off a victory.”
The second leg will be played next Saturday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
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