Mohamed Dräger has called Mamelodi Sundowns “a monster of Africa” – but the Esperance Sportive de Tunis right-back made clear that respect and fear are two very different things ahead of Saturday’s CAF Champions League semi-final second leg at Loftus Versfeld.
Speaking ahead of the crunch tie, the German-born Tunisia international offered a candid assessment of what makes Sundowns such a formidable continental force; and pointed to something that caught even him off guard.
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“I was surprised too that 90% of the Sundowns team has played together in the national team,” he said. “So it’s a big advantage for them, but also it’s nice to see that the national team is choosing local players.”
It is an observation that cuts to the heart of what has made Sundowns such a consistent presence at the business end of the CAF Champions League.
The cohesion built through years of playing alongside each other for Bafana Bafana translates directly onto the club pitch and Dräger acknowledges that familiarity as a real weapon.
But he stopped well short of suggesting it makes them invincible; “At the end of the day, they are doing well at Sundowns and even better in the national team,” he said.
“As I said, we are facing a monster of Africa, not the monster, but for sure a respectable, big team.”
The distinction matters. Not the monster. A monster. It speaks to where Esperance see themselves in relation to the South African giants, as equals or superior in African football’s upper hierarchy, not as underdogs making up the numbers.
Dräger himself brings that cross-continental perspective. Having played club football across Germany, Greece, England and Switzerland before joining Esperance in January, he is no stranger to high-stakes environments.
And having watched Sundowns up close in the first leg, a 1-0 defeat in Tunis in which Esperance were arguably the better side – he clearly believes the tie is far from over.
Taraji need to score at Loftus Versfeld to have any chance of reaching the final, where either ASFAR or RS Berkane await.
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