With Orlando Pirates set to join Mamelodi Sundowns for the next instalment of the CAF Champions League, a former Buccaneer has discussed the team's chances in the continental competition.
Bucs have successfully qualified for the competition as the second team from Mzansi after beating SuperSport United to the second place finish in the DStv Premiership.
Furthermore, Jose Riveiro has led the Soweto giants to a cup double in the 2022/23 season after winning the Nedbank Cup this past weekend to add it to the MTN8 trophy won earlier in the campaign.
Former Pirates midfielder, Gerald Modabi, believes Pirates and Sundowns can prove too much for the North African teams and can end their dominance in the Champions League.
The Good
"Going back to Africa comes at a time when I believe and hope that the club (Pirates) has got a chance to chase Sundowns at the top. It comes when I believe that it is time to reclaim what I believe is truly ours. Being the top club that we are, we deserve to be up there. This comes at a time when the players and the technical staff are having a good understanding and the proof of that are the trophies won this season with the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup. It makes it easy going to Africa when you have a bunch of winners in the team. The players have adopted the mentality of the club which demands winning. They understand what it means to win, having been through stormy seas together as a group. It can only be good that they will be going together as a group to face the challenges of playing in Africa," said Modabi.
The Bad
"What can make things go horribly wrong is the depth of the squad because playing in Africa comes with a lot of demands. You need to have a large squad and that can come costly in terms of injuries and things like that. But it can also be a good thing for you as a team because you get to play earlier than the rest of the teams in the league because of the CAF Champions League preliminary rounds and those games while others are still in pre-season and so on. When that happens, it would mean that while others are still trying to figure out combinations and things like that, you are already having your rhythm. So, when you bolster, it doesn't become very difficult for the new players because you are already having your rhythm and coming at the back of winning trophies and having done well in the league," he said.
The Ugly
North African teams' Champions League dominance
"I think Sundowns particularly, and even Pirates at some point when (Thamsanqa) Gabuza scored that cracker at Orlando Stadium under Roger de Sa, I think our teams showed that they can play against North African teams. It proves that we can match these teams and we just have to take it out of our minds that they have been dominant over us. Yes, maybe history says they have been dominant but over the years we have proved that we can match them. We are proving to be up there with everyone in terms of tactical and technical ability. Maybe in the past we treated them like Europeans because of how close they are to Europe. They are big in size and they bully us on and off the field when we come up against them but we are getting used to those tactics and tricks. It does no longer come as a surprise when they treat us like that. We have embraced that treatment and it doesn't come as a surprise when they do it and it's about time we take over convincingly instead of dilly-dallying. We've got to prove to them that we can overpower them and the two teams that have got the potential to prove whether we are good enough or not are Pirates and Sundowns. Both teams are previous winners of the competition," added Modabi.
They Start Resorting To Their Tactics From The Tunnel
"Sundowns came close to winning the competition as they lost in the semi-finals in a game they knew that it was going to be tough, having drawn the first leg away from home with eight in-field players. It was just unfortunate that Wydad Casablanca scored two goals but they knew it was not easy and they were given a run for their money and once that happens they start resorting to their tactics from the tunnel," concluded Modabi.
Can Downs And Bucs Conquer Africa?
