Season of two halves — the contrasting tales of SA’s two teams in African interclub competition

Katlego Otladisa of Marumo Gallants and Arson Jean Venon of Elgeco Plus during their CAF Confederation Cup, second preliminary round second leg match at Peter Mokaba Stadium on 15 October, 2022 in Polokwane, South Africa. (Photo: Philip Maeta/Gallo Images)

By Yanga Sibembe

3 May 2023

South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and Marumo Gallants are in the semifinals of the Caf Champions League and Caf Confederation Cup respectively, in spite of their contrasting domestic fortunes.

After three successive unsuccessful attempts of trying to reach the Caf Champions League semifinals, serial South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns have finally snapped the pattern of falling at the quarterfinals.

Masandawana brushed aside Algeria’s CR Belouizdad 6-2 on aggregate to reach the last four of Africa’s premier club competition for the first time since the 2018/2019 campaign.

The statement win over Algeria’s best has the Sundowns faithful dreaming of just a second Champions League gold medal. However, it will only become tougher from here. The next obstacle for Rulani Mokwena and his men is a tough fixture against reigning African champions Wydad Casablanca.

After showing their strength against Belouizdad, the Algerian outfit’s coach Nabil Kouki labelled the South African side as the “best team” on the continent. Especially after they smashed his charges 4-1 in Algiers.

However, Mokwena said that even though they are flattered by the praise from his opposite number, it is imperative that they remain humble because of the short-memory culture that prevails in sport.

Mamelodi Sundowns players celebrates winning the Nedbank Cup final against Marumo Gallants FC at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on 28 May, 2022 in Rustenburg, South Africa. (Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)

The Brazilians went into the crunch quarterfinal contest on the back of being bundled out of the Nedbank Cup — where they were the defending champions. Following that, there was some criticism directed towards the Sundowns head coach.

“A couple of weeks ago we lost to [Stellenbosch in the Cup] and we were the worst team, I was the worst coach,” Mokwena said after his side’s 2-1 second leg success over the Algerians.

“This is football. You have to take the good moments just like you take the bad moments; not too high in the good moments, not too low on the bad moments,” he added.

Due to their perennial dominance of the domestic scene, Sundowns have been under pressure in recent seasons to transfer that form to continental football and emulate the team that won the Champions League in 2016. They have not been successful in that endeavour as yet.

This season they look good for it. However, the clash against Wydad will push Mokwena’s men to their limits. Striker Peter Shalulile — who recently celebrated netting 100 goals for Sundowns — says they are ready for the battle and ravenous for overall victory.

“It’s about us believing more in ourselves now. We know that anything is possible,” Shalulile told journalists.

“It’s not only the way we play, but what we do behind the scenes. There are days where we do not sleep because we want it so badly that we forget even about our families and we come to work in the middle of the night… We have to deliver. That’s why we are where we are.”

The team that wins the Sundowns and Wydad tug-of-war will be favourite to push all the way to clinch the crown. Even though the teams contesting the second semifinal — Egypt’s Al Ahly and Espérance of Tunisia — have 14 African titles between them.

The Champions League semifinal first legs will be played on 12 May, with the reverse fixtures taking place seven days later.

Gallant Gallants

While Sundowns went into the continental competition with the expectation and belief they could win it, fellow South African side Marumo Gallants is a different prospect.

They are participating in the Confederation Cup because of a technicality. During the 2021/2022 season, they reached the final of the Nedbank Cup, but were defeated by Sundowns to finish as silver medallists.

The team that wins the Cup qualifies for the auxiliary interclub competition. However, with Sundowns already qualified for the Champions League, the baton fell to Gallants. They have taken it and sprinted to the Confederation Cup last four – where they are set to clash with Tanzanian side Yanga SC after navigating past Egyptian outfit Pyramids.

They finished at the summit of their Confed group, in just their second year in the South African topflight after they bought the status of Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in 2021.

In the knockout stage, that group phase momentum has not faltered and they are now just two games away from reaching the final of a continental competition. This despite the fact that in the domestic league, they have hovered in and around the relegation zone the whole season.

It has truly been a remarkable continental campaign for Bahlabani Ba Ntwa. Though it was sullied by some off-field issues recently. This after two club officials were held captive by a hotel owner in Libya, who accused the club of not paying him money that they owed him after they travelled to his home country to play Al Akhdar.

In the midst of all that noise, the players have managed to focus on the task at hand. With no one ever giving the South Africans any chance of reaching this stage, they have nothing to lose. All the pressure will be on their opponents.

Gallants tackle Yanga, who are first in their domestic league, on Wednesday 10 May. The second leg is a week later. DM

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