Mamelodi Sundowns captain Themba Zwane has noted mentality among the key differences in his side’s CAF Champions League triumph last season.
Sundowns prevailed 2-1 over Morocco’s AS FAR in a two-legged final to secure their second continental star having first won it 10 years ago.
A campaign before last, they were edged by Egypt’s Pyramids in the final having come as close as the semi-finals in previous campaigns.
The feat in Rabat also meant that the Bafana Bafana international became one of two players at Chloorkop to have won the tournament twice, Denis Onyango being the other. And for his efforts, he also had his contract renewed by the club for a year with an option to renew for a further year.
The midfielder who endured an injury-laden past season expressed how being mentally strong helped the team.
“The biggest difference was mentality,” said Zwane in the Mamelodi Sundowns Magazine edition 16.
“We understood better how to manage big moments because of everything we have been through as a group. That experience helped us stay calm, focused and execute when it mattered most.
“Nothing in football is guaranteed because you have to earn everything. What we have achieved shows that if you stay consistent, keep working and remain united, your moment will come.”
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