Mamelodi Sundowns have been taking full advantage of their longer than usual rest period to prepare for their CAF Champions League match against Petro de Luanda in Angola on Saturday. With no midweek fixtures Coach Pitso Mosimane and his team will be glad they were able to travel to Luanda and prepare properly for their tie:
“To be honest it has been a little bit of a relief to have five days before the match to prepare, normally we have two and a half or three days to prepare.”
“Five days helps us to really get rest and prepare properly. We arrived, the hotel is okay, the training pitch is okay, usually we struggle with training pitches, but our advance team has done a very good job.”
The extra preparation time will no doubt benefit The Brazilians who have had to adjust to the hotter conditions in the countries capital city.
“We were a little bit cold in Algeria in December, now we are here in Angola and it’s hot. 32 degrees and there is humidity, you can see in our pictures, we have to make sure they are not dehydrated. But the players have to adjust, we have no excuse.”
Coach Mosimane has also had manage injuries to some of his players with the number of fixtures but will be encouraged by the welcome return to fitness by some of his players:
“We are only managing Thapelo and his groin. The good thing is that Ricardo Nascimento is back as an additional player in the team, but we still have injuries to Rivaldo Coetzee, Oupa Manyisa, Aubrey Ngoma.
“Another positive thing is that Anthony Laffor is pain free and training and is now ready to be selected for this game as well as upcoming games. We are getting a few players back, we’ve also got Phakamani back now so the squad is starting to get its shape and we’re hoping that Mauricio Affonso will be back soon.”
Mamelodi Sundowns take on Petro de Luanda at Estadio 11 de Novembro on Saturday afternoon. Kick-off is at 14:00 CAT. The match will be live streamed on the Mamelodi Sundowns Facebook page.
We keep our fingers crossed and we are persuaded for better things, there is no better time of your career in football like this one where players can spend more time together than with their families, knowing one another better and enjoying the company of one another. It is easy to coach a team that lives and stays together for so long.It becomes easy to overcome the pressure out there alone and can easily model lives to those who are examples in the team. We are behind the team in full force, we appreciate the team and we welcome our heros back. There is no better time to come in than this, and our prayers is that they stay injury free for the critical times are come! Every game counts and is very important, clean sheets will take us far, we believe goals are coming especially in the Psl, We know our set goals and we are well aware of the tantamount task ahead of us. Can we still visualize those stars loading? Winning is in the mind, let the attitude not be deterred by anything. We just cant wait for tomorrow afternoon. Sundowns has depth!! Whoever counts Sundowns out of competition siting whatever reasons has to think again, happy days are coming and players continue reviving our hopes. KBY
A must win even if we already qualified sky is the limit
Responding to these articles is seemingly becoming part of my to do list. Technically it sounds as though the team has enough legs. The technical team has a wider pool of options.
Hot temperatures require hydration. Please engage the medical team and verify if the boys can take a sachet called “Rehydrate” its a mixture that will assist the boys to remain hydrated. It can be taken tonight and tomorrow morning. I’m not a doctor but I use it and it assists with keeping the desired level of hydration.
Lastly but very important to note is that the team must remember that CAF championships are not just games but games of liberation and bringing South Africa closer to the rest of our brothers and sisters. A borderless Africa that we hope for may not be physical but it must resonate the hearts of all people in the African continent. Sports is one way of bringing people together and therefore participating and winning gives Sundowns the opportunity to preach unity and love in the African continent. I think we are task with that as a team hence we have to see it through.
A quick prayer before the game and we are good to go…
A must win game for Sundowns, Waydad won 3-1 yesterday, all the pressure must remain on this game in Angola. We want enjoy the game between Sundowns and Waydad without pressure and see how it is when its playing for pride. Kby
All the best guys keep up the very good job. We love you big time and very pround to have you as Mamelodi Sundowns.
Make us proud go masandawana go
The match is live on hesgoal Dawanas.
Every time Mweene concede a goal and I don’t know why he still a Downs player really, another thing Pitso should consider starting Villa on the bench that guy is lazy.Anyway thanks for the draw.
Muzi member i agree with u Mwene concede lot but if notice nowdays our team conceder lot Sundown when ever lead by 1 nil opposition get equalize i suspect our back 4 special Lebusa since he join us team conceder in every game he present that is my opinion