Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena said it was not a disaster to lose last week to TP Mazembe in their last CAF Champions League match.
Mokwena said such things do happen in football when no one expected them to lose, but it doesn’t define that they cannot recover.
Mokwena made an example of Spain in South Africa in 2010 losing their opening World Cup match to Switzerland in Durban, before going all the way to win the whole shebang.
It was the same with Argentina’s national team in the last World Cup in Qatar, losing the opening group stage match to Saudi Arabia, but Lionel Messi and Co. picked their way up before going all the way to triumph.
Sundowns, who won the African Football League last month, were brought down to earth by Congolese giants TP Mazembe in the second match of Group A in Lubumbashi last weekend.
As they lost to the 2015 champions, it meant there is no run-away team in the group now after Mauritania side Nouadibou shocked money-rich side Pyramids 2-0 at home to collect their first three points.
All teams in the group are now all on three points, with Sundowns on top due to a goal scored, followed by Mazembe, Nouadibou in third, and Pyramids lying fourth.
With all teams in action this weekend, one is set to lose to some ground and Mokwena is eager to bounce back quickly.
“I always say to the players – there are three things in football: you lose, you win and you draw,” said Mokwena at the press conference.
“In competitive sport, you lose more than you win. Number one you have to try not to lose because you are going to lose, so you have to lose the right game.
“And (but) people say, ‘What are the right games?’ Time and history always reveal reality.
“Argentina lost the first (the right) game in the group stages of the World Cup and went on to win the World Cup. Spain in 2010 lost the first game in the World Cup and went on to win the World Cup.
“Al Ahly, who struggled and we beat them last season, went on to win the Champions League. So, we know and accept that we have to raise the level of performance, we know that.
“We are always the group that wants to do better with every single training session, every single day we want to win.
“We want to make sure that we become a better team than we were in the previous days.
“It is all a work in progress. We just have to knuckle down and focus on our objectives.
“As long as there are still games to be played, we still believe and move on from both victories and defeats in the same way. We treat success because when we win, we are not in heaven. We also treat defeats as an imposter because when we lose we are not in hell. What is important is what lessons come with both winning and losing, trying to make sure that we understand that we are not invincible.
“That result against Mazembe was one of those that we can use as a reminder that teams on the continent can beat us.”
The last time Sundowns lost at home in the Champions League, was the last game in the group in 2021 to CR Belouizdad, but they were already assured of knockout stages as they finished top.
It would be interesting if this was not just an appeasing talk from Mokwena when they host Pyramids at Loftus Stadium on Sunday (15:00), as a grander performance is imperatively required.
