Can the FIFA World Club Cup-inspired prolonged 2024/25 term and short pre-season mess up Mamelodi Sundowns' ambitions? Masandawana defender responds ahead of MTN8 quarter-final

Mamelodi Sundowns finished the 2024/25 season late after participating at the FIFA Club World Cup.

That saw the Brazilians going for the off-season break late and only returned to have just two weeks of pre-season training ahead of Sunday's MTN8 quarter-final clash with Richards Bay at Lucas Moripe Stadium.

But defender Keanu Cupido believes the limited time in preparing for the new season after a demanding previous term will not be a disadvantage for them.

“We feel like we need to take care of our bodies as players first, and then the team will come into it,” said Cupido as per Phakaaathi. 

“We need to do our recoveries, and nutrition is also very important in terms of food that we eat as players. 

"Those are small details that separate professional players from football players. I think a few seasons ago, Mamelodi Sundowns went that direction, although I wasn’t here.

“You can see the change in players like Tebza [Teboho Mokoena], he played so many games, but it doesn’t get to a point where you’ll see that," added the former Cape Town City defender. 

"They’ve always been consistent in their performances as well. So at Sundowns, most players are used to it.”

Should things not go well for Sundowns in the new season, that they had limited preparations is something that might not be bought by their fans.

Not long ago, some North African teams did not have an off-season holiday when the CAF club football calendar ran from February to November.

But that was a period when Al Ahly, together with some teams from the north of the continent, were dominating continental football despite their players lacking rest.

The Brazilians are now wrapping up their preparations for the Richards Bay match.

They come up against a team which lost key players like Yanela Mbuthuma and Nkosikhona Ndaba to Orlando Pirates.