Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has given his view on whether their season would be considered a failure if they don't reach the final of the CAF Champions League.
Sundowns won their sixth consecutive DStv Premiership title with seven matches to spare but they could not retain the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup they won last season, as they were knocked out in the semi-finals and quarter-finals, respectively.
The Brazilians' challenge, given their dominance in the domestic league, has been to reach the podium in the CAF Champions League and they gave themselves a chance to do so after getting to the semi-finals for the first time since 2019.
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Ahead of the semi-final second-leg against Wydad Casablanca on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, with the tie still deadlocked, Mokwena was asked whether their season would be a failure if they don't reach the final.
"We've had a super season, it could be better but if you look at what we've done, how we've played, the character we've shown, the resilience that we've built..." Mokwena said in a press conference.
The Tshwane giants were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the continent's premier club tournament for three successive years prior to this campaign and Mokwena alluded that what has been their Achilles' heel was not getting results away.
The Soweto-born tactician went on and praised their away performance this season as proof that their season would not be a failure if they don't get over the Wydad hurdle.
"The type of performances that we've demonstrated away from home, especially in the Champions League, in Cairo, in Algeria, in Casablanca then of course you see what I see," he said.
"And what I see is an incredible group of players. A special group that is doing everything it can to represent this football club every single time, with integrity and honour and to give everything of the best. I'm sure that's what we'll continue to do on Saturday," he added.
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