Johannesburg — Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene says Mamelodi Sundowns will play the match, and not the occasion, when they host Al Ahly in CAF Champions League on Saturday afternoon. That they'll come up against their former coach Pitso Mosimane is all the same.
After the halfway mark in the group stages, Downs are at the top of Group A with seven points, three ahead of the second-placed Ahly. But they’ll be eager to bag full points and put one foot in the quarter-finals when they welcome the Eagles.
But that’s easier said than that. Not only are the reigning African kings seeking vengeance after Downs beat them for the first time in their own backyard two weeks ago, but they are also coached by Mosimane, the man who led them to huge success.
With Downs, ‘Jingles’ won 11 trophies, including the continental crown, in less than a decade, before he left the club to join the African Club of the Century, where he won back-to-back African crowns and bronze medals in the Club World Cup.
Mosimane returns to the shores of his birthplace more motivated to lead Ahly to a win over Downs, given that he was recently awarded with a new two-year bumper contract after his remarkable work, in domestic, continental and global football.
But the Brazillians are fazed by meeting with their former coach, who knows the team like the back of his hand. Instead, they are eager to hypnotise Ahly’s threat, get the maximum points and take a step further into qualifying for the quarter-finals.
“He was our coach. But at the same time, it’s not about the coach, it’s about our team Sundowns and Ahly,” Mweene said. “I think it’s just up to us to go in the game and do what we have to do, although we still have respect for coach Pitso.”
Mweene might have said the game is between “us and Ahly, and not coach Pitso” but their job is cut out for them in their bid to achieve one of the crucial basics in the gruelling continental showpiece: winning home games to get an advantage.
Mosimane has won many matches at the FNB Stadium - which is the home of Sundowns' local rivals, Kaizer Chiefs - where the match will be hosted at 3pm. Chiefs also allowed Ahly to use their training base, the Taung Village, for their preparations.
“We played the first game in Rustenburg. So there’s nothing we can do. We have to go and play at FNB. But at the end of the day, we are home. We are used to playing there. And at the moment it’s about the country, not the PSL,” he said.
Downs are one of only two teams, alongside Raja Casablanca, that are yet to concede in the group stage so far. And kudos for that feat should go to their solid defensive contingent, including Mweene after his match winning saves in Cairo.
“One thing (that has kept me going) is to remain positive,” the Downs’ second fiddle said. “You must train smart, especially when you are my age. It all goes back to the kind of training with our coach Wendell (Robinson, the goalkeeper coach).”
With Denis Onyango injured, Mweene will be eager to rack up a successive clean sheet against Ahly. And despite the latter considering himself “not old at 37”, his experience will be invaluable as the last man if they are to complete a double over Ahly.
IOL Sport