On the continental level, South African clubs have most often failed to live up to the high expectations of supporters and the quality level of their league play. The only CAF Champions League glory in the nation's history dates back to 1995 when Orlando Pirates beat ASEC Mimosas in the final. But at the semi-final stage of this year's event, another South African club is favoured to reach the ultimate match for the third time in the nation's history.
Mamelodi Sundowns are, of course, no newcomers to the African footballing scene, though most of their successes have been achieved on the domestic front. Seven South African Premier league titles and six major cups have made the club one of the most successful in South Africa. Disappointingly, they have not managed to take that success onto the continental scene, where an appearance in the 2001 Champions League final is the only thing fans can boast about.
All of that has changed this year, with coach Pitso Mosimane leading them on an African adventure, which ironically includes the fact that they have in fact been knocked out twice already this year. They lost to AS Vita Club in the second round on away goals and were then eliminated by Ghanaian club Medeama in the CAF Confederation Cup, only to be reinstated into the Champions League after Vita were found to have played an ineligible player.
"We're like the Denmark of Africa,” Mosimane told FIFA.com this week ahead of their semi-final first leg against Zambia's Zesco United. “They were eliminated from the Euros in 1992 but then brought in when Yugoslavia were disqualified from playing. All the Danish players were already on holiday and we all know how that ended.”
Throughout the campaign though, the former Bafana Bafana coach has downplayed his teams' chances.
“We only came back into the competition last year after a long lay-off," he continued. "We wanted to get a feel for it and then tackle it next year as we have already qualified as South African champions. This belief has kept a lot of the pressure off of us.”
The players and the knowledge Funded by a South African businessman, Sundowns have built themselves something of an international super team with foreign players forming much of the heart of the team. Ugandan goalkeeper Denis Onyango, Zimbabwean midfielder Khama Billiat and Colombian striker Leonardo Castro are among the most influential players in the team. They are complemented by South African internationals like Keagan Dolly, who played for his country at the Olympic Football Tournament in Rio earlier this year.
With these players, former South Africa coach Mosimane has managed to build a squad that can comfortably compete at local level, whilst staging a strong continental cup run. This depth in the squad is what has allowed the club to be so successful on all levels and even though several of the players registered for the Champions League have left the club, Mosimane has been able to find more than adequate replacements for them.
“The success we have had locally in winning trophies has also given us confidence to go out into Africa and do well," Mosimane said. "I am also proud that our success has also given a boost to Zimbabwe and Uganda as Billiat and Onyango helped their countries reach the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in ten and 38 years respectively.”
Having finished in the top two each of the last three South African seasons has allowed Sundowns to build up their understanding of the tournament's challenges.
“It has been really important that we've learned a lot from our previous campaign as there are a lot of challenges to playing in the Champions League," Mosimane continued. "At times we even have to fly to our away matches via Europe, or we will sit in transit for hours. I think people often underestimate these challenges. There are also facilities in some of the countries that are not what we are used to. So we have had to change our mindset to overcome these challenges. We have managed to do so and to get the right players who could do that."
On the continental level, South African clubs have most often failed to live up to the high expectations of supporters and the quality level of their league play. The only CAF Champions League glory in the nation's history dates back to 1995 when Orlando Pirates beat ASEC Mimosas in the final. But at the semi-final stage of this year's event, another South African club is favoured to reach the ultimate match for the third time in the nation's history.
Mamelodi Sundowns are, of course, no newcomers to the African footballing scene, though most of their successes have been achieved on the domestic front. Seven South African Premier league titles and six major cups have made the club one of the most successful in South Africa. Disappointingly, they have not managed to take that success onto the continental scene, where an appearance in the 2001 Champions League final is the only thing fans can boast about.
All of that has changed this year, with coach Pitso Mosimane leading them on an African adventure, which ironically includes the fact that they have in fact been knocked out twice already this year. They lost to AS Vita Club in the second round on away goals and were then eliminated by Ghanaian club Medeama in the CAF Confederation Cup, only to be reinstated into the Champions League after Vita were found to have played an ineligible player.
"We're like the Denmark of Africa,” Mosimane told FIFA.com this week ahead of their semi-final first leg against Zambia's Zesco United. “They were eliminated from the Euros in 1992 but then brought in when Yugoslavia were disqualified from playing. All the Danish players were already on holiday and we all know how that ended.”
Throughout the campaign though, the former Bafana Bafana coach has downplayed his teams' chances.
“We only came back into the competition last year after a long lay-off," he continued. "We wanted to get a feel for it and then tackle it next year as we have already qualified as South African champions. This belief has kept a lot of the pressure off of us.”
The players and the knowledge Funded by a South African businessman, Sundowns have built themselves something of an international super team with foreign players forming much of the heart of the team. Ugandan goalkeeper Denis Onyango, Zimbabwean midfielder Khama Billiat and Colombian striker Leonardo Castro are among the most influential players in the team. They are complemented by South African internationals like Keagan Dolly, who played for his country at the Olympic Football Tournament in Rio earlier this year.
With these players, former South Africa coach Mosimane has managed to build a squad that can comfortably compete at local level, whilst staging a strong continental cup run. This depth in the squad is what has allowed the club to be so successful on all levels and even though several of the players registered for the Champions League have left the club, Mosimane has been able to find more than adequate replacements for them.
“The success we have had locally in winning trophies has also given us confidence to go out into Africa and do well," Mosimane said. "I am also proud that our success has also given a boost to Zimbabwe and Uganda as Billiat and Onyango helped their countries reach the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in ten and 38 years respectively.”
Having finished in the top two each of the last three South African seasons has allowed Sundowns to build up their understanding of the tournament's challenges.
“It has been really important that we've learned a lot from our previous campaign as there are a lot of challenges to playing in the Champions League," Mosimane continued. "At times we even have to fly to our away matches via Europe, or we will sit in transit for hours. I think people often underestimate these challenges. There are also facilities in some of the countries that are not what we are used to. So we have had to change our mindset to overcome these challenges. We have managed to do so and to get the right players who could do that."