Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane is in a bullish mood ahead of the Tshwane giant’s second leg Caf Champions League quarter final encounter against Wydad Casablanca.
Masandawana go into the clash looking to defend their slender 1-0 advantage that came courtesy of a second half Yannick Zakri strike. But despite Sundowns’ favourable position, the defending champions are not taking their trip to the North Africa for granted.
“We have to give everything we have. This is the last match of the quarterfinal. You win, you are in the semi-finals and you lose, then you are out,” Mosimane was quoted by SunSport as saying.
“It’s going to be a fight there. But we have experience playing in the Champions League. We know their mentality. They will come to your bench and provoke you. They will also burn things.
“That’s their culture, mentality and belief when they play at home,” he explained.
“We have been to Zamalek, Al Ahly, Esperance and it was tough, but we made it. We are the champions of Africa – we have the experience and know what to expect there.
“And we believe we will do what we did to them here. I have many international players with experience playing in North Africa. I believe we will get a good result again,” he added.
“I also have much experience in playing international football, which I picked up during my days with Bafana Bafana.
“That’s is why I only want to coach clubs that want to play in the Champions League,” he iterated.
Meanwhile, Mosimane is hopeful that the attacking duo of Khama Billiat and Anthony Laffor could be fit in time for the crunch encounter after missing out on the first leg in Tshwane.
“Let’s see what happens after they see our two doctors,” he said.
“I think Khama (Blliat) has a chance but he needs to be in the right frame of mind too, as he has not played for a while. But I would love to have them both back.
“I am sure you saw that I played Oupa Manyisa as striker on Sunday. I hope to have one more attacker for this clash,” he concluded.
