Mamelodi Sundowns‘ Aubrey Modiba says they want to replicate the joy and happiness the class of 2016 brought the club and the Yellow Nation by winning the CAF Champions League again.
It’s been nine years since Sundowns under then head coach Pitso Mosimane lifted their first Champions League crown, beating Egyptian giants Zamalek – and now another foe from the North awaits them as they reached the final for the first time, since that historic feat.
Pyramids come with less history, but their quality is not debatable this season, as they could finish with the Egyptian Premier League title, Egypt Cup and CAF Champions League trophies in the space of one week – or none of them…
But Modiba, speaking ahead of the first leg at Loftus Versfeld this weekend has reflected on the experience of the winners of the competition that were starring at the club upon his arrival five years ago.
Themba Zwane and Denis Onyango are the only current members of the squad who was part of the famed team, while Kennedy Mweene is part of the technical team as a goalkeeper coach.
“I think what helped us, as players who joined after [Sundowns won the Champions League], the guys who won it explained how important it is to win this competition, when we arrived here, we had that mentality to say we need to do well in this competition,” he said.
“This is because of the previous group [of players], obviously it hasn’t happened, but we’ve been knocking, flirting with it and finally we’re in the final, so we just want that joy they had in 2016.
“We saw the celebrations all around the country, the fans, everyone in the club was happy, we want to bring back that happiness and positivity going forward in this competition. So hopefully we can bring those smiles back to our fans.”
