Mamelodi Sundowns mentor Rulani Mokwena promises to deliver the CAF Champions League title to Chloorkop after two years. Mokwena has a four-year deal at Sundowns and says the fans must be patient with him because it’s not easy to win the coveted title.
Rulani has guided Sundowns to this season’s semi-finals of the interclub competition as they look to beat Esperance in the second leg on Friday night in Pretoria.
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Ahead of this gruelling clash against the Tunisian giants who beat Sundowns last weekend, Mokwena has made a bold statement that it won’t take him long to lay his hands in the continental title and promised two years is enough to guide the club to their second trophy.
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Fresh from leading his troops to a 2-1 win over Sekhukhune United in the DStv Premiership on Tuesday to set a new 22-match unbeaten record, Mokwena says he knows why it is tough to win this continental trophy.
In his second season on his four-year contract with Sundowns, the Soweto-born coach is just two matches away from winning the Champions League and should they overturn a 1-0 defeat against Esperance, they will have a chance in the final to end their eight-year wait.
“I have the feeling that we don’t understand the Champions League. I look at the Champions League with a different perspective because I have been here before,” Mokwena explained to the media.
“I was an assistant coach to the previous coach Pitso Mosimane for a very long time and the last coach was here for eight years. He had eight years [four from 2012 to 2016] to try and win the Champions League and we only won the competition once. We only played the semi-final two times because the other time, we got into the final. But after that, in eight years, we only played the semi-final once and lost.”
“This is my second season and we’ve done back-to-back semi-finals already and sometimes I have that feeling that people don’t appreciate that because of how they perceive the expectations.”
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Taking a glance at last year’s campaign, Sundowns failed to reach the finals as they were beaten by Wydad Casablanca in the semis via an aggregate scoreline. He added that having the likes of Al Ahly and TP Mazembe makes it more challenging to win the trophy.
“If you look at the profile of the teams in the Champions League, there are 21 titles among the last four. Al Ahly with 11, TP Mazembe with five, Esperance with four, and then Sundowns with one,” he added.
“Now, what gives us the right to think it’s just going to be a walk in the park and win the competition? We have to work hard for it. I got a four-year contract here and all I’m asking for from the Sundowns fans is give me four years to try and win.”
“I’m not asking for eight. Give me four years to try and win the Champions League. It’s going to happen. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be a win all the time.”
For this upcoming match against Gold and Blood at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Mokwena must sharpen his firepower and score twice without conceding to secure their passage to the final on Friday. Meanwhile, a 1-0 victory will see the match go to penalties and the astute manager promised they would do their best to overturn the results at home and qualify for the final.
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