There were no overt celebrations when the beleaguered Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan blew the final whistle at Loftus Versveld on Saturday afternoon. Besides captain Ronwen Williams’ fist pumping and embrace of left-back Divine Lunga, the celebrations from the rest of the Mamelodi Sundowns players were rather muted.
For a team accustomed to winning, it was almost routine, with all the players tamely congratulating each along with coach Miguel Cardoso.
It was not until chairman Tlhopie Motsepe came down from his VIP enclosure to join the players on the field did the celebrations get into some sort of a festive mood with the squad saluting the sold out crowd that came out to support the Masawandana.
But this was no ordinary victory. Sundowns had kept four-times CAF Champions League winners Esperance de Tunis goalless across the two-legged semi-final.
History had already been made the previous weekend in Tunis when Sundowns shattered their glass ceiling with a first-ever victory at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium. They now repeated the act at Fortress Loftus to break further records by becoming the first Sundowns team to qualify for consecutive CAF Champions League finals.
This is an incredible achievement which cannot be undervalued and taken for granted.
Sundowns’ dominance of the Betway Premiership over the last decade has created a great deal of envy amongst fans of local rivals. It is for this reason that Orlando Pirates are almost being willed over the finish line in the title race this season, although my gut tells me Sundowns’ experience will see them home safely again.
To fully appreciate Sundowns’ standing on the continent, it’s best to hear from their opponents.
“Sundowns is a very difficult team to play against. They didn’t lose any game in the last two years,”
Esperance de Tunis coach Patrice Beaumelle said after his team’s exit. Esperance defender Mohamed Dräger echoed his coach Beaumelle’s sentiments.
“It’s (Sundowns) a big team, especially at home, like a big force. Very dynamic team, very tactically and technically prepared team by the coach and the whole staff,” Dräger said. “We faced a monster of Africa.”
Furthermore, Sundowns’ continental success only bodes well for Bafana Bafana’s chances at the upcoming Fifa World Cup.
“A few months ago, I was in the AFCON with Angola. We played Bafana Bafana, and we saw a lot of players from Sundowns, so they get used to playing together, and playing together during the season with Sundowns, playing together in the national team, in the AFCON, in the Champions League, you get used to playing with pressure and intensity, and you have to be efficient,” said Beaumelle, who previously coached Ivory Coast.
Pirates will forever be the trailblazers having been the first South African team to claim the coveted CAF Champions League star way back in 1995 already, but Sundowns’ consistent success in Africa’s elite club competition has taken them to the next level.
Perhaps the lack of celebrations from the Sundowns players last Saturday was due to the fact that they knew the job was not done yet. They are desperate for a second star to emulate Pitso Mosimane’s Class of 2016.
Morocco’s AS FAR will certainly have something to say about that when the two-legged final comes around next month, but one thing for sure is that Miguel Cardoso’s Sundowns deserve far greater respect than what they are currently getting from the South African sports public.
Source: IOL
