With Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly set to lock horns for yet another titanic tussle this Sunday in the African Football League semi-finals, we thought we take a look at how the Red Devils' last visit to Tshwane went.
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After the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, Marcel Koller had established himself as a worthy successor to Pitso Mosimane's throne at the Cairo International Stadium. He won five trophies in his debut campaign with the Egyptian giants, becoming the first coach since the Kagiso native to win the CAF Champions League with the club. However, the allure that he has now almost never came to be, and his last visit to South Africa's capital had a lot to do with that.
The two sides last met at Loftus in a CAF Champions League group-stage tie. The Egyptian Premier League (EPL) champions' continental schedule was pushed back due to league and cup commitments, so they were facing the DStv Premiership champions for the second time on 11 March 2023.
While, at that point, Koller was on an 18-game unbeaten streak, his tactics started to look fallible in cup competitions. They had conceded four goals in their final two games at the FIFA Club World Cup, and lost 1-0 to Florent Ibenge's Al Hilal in their opening group match in Africa, before drawing 2-2 with the South Africans in Cairo.
So heading into their match against Masandawana in Mzansi, questions began to arise about whether or not the Swiss tactician was getting the best out his players when it mattered most, and unfortunately for him, the situation only got worse.
That humid Saturday afternoon, a raucous Yellow Nation spurred their team on to an intense start that saw Sundowns take a 1-0 lead within four minutes through their new diminutive playmaker Marcelo Allende, made all the more spectacular because it was a long-distance strike. The Egyptian side was under severe pressure early on, but were able to get their bearing on the game when Mohamed Sherif levelled matters courtesy of an Aubrey Modiba mistake.
However, after that, it was one-way traffic for Rulani Mokwena's charges as first Themba Zwane was alive in the box to pounce on a chance to make it 2-1 in the 24th minute. Not to be outdone by Allende, Teboho Mokoena made it three for his side with a long-range effort of his own five minutes before half-time. Sundowns were 3-1 ahead at the break and the optimism at the stadium was overflowing.
The second half followed a similar trend as the Premier Soccer League title holders continued to dominate proceedings, but angst would start to build among supporters whenever Ahly's Percy Tau, himself an ex-Downs star, got the ball as he looked to be Koller's only saving grace. Whenever their former star would get hold of the ball, there would be an uneasiness that started to permeate among themselves and when he scored Ahly's second goal to make it 3-2, you wondered if the EPL side could cause an upset by completing a comeback.
Sundowns were, however, still intent on winning the game and continued to create chances, and this finally told in the 72nd minute as Peter Shalulile put the ball past Mohamed El-Shenawy to make the score 4-2. A lull in the match ensued as the record competition winners seemed unable to get a hold of the game, but the match was put beyond doubt in stoppage time when Namibian talisman Shalulile completed his brace as 5-2 appeared on the scoreboard.
It was a bad day at the office for the north Africans and it put them at risk of not qualifying for the knockout rounds. It also put the ex-FC Basel tactician's job at risk as he was now under tremendous scrutiny.
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That result proved a turning point for him and his team, however, as they would go on to be unbeaten in all competitions for the next four months, with the league and the Champion League already sewn up at that point. Koller will be hoping that things are different when he returns to South Africa, with a place in the African Football League final at stake this time.
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