Rhulani Mokwena ready to get past Mamelodi Sundowns in CAF Champions League despite Masandawana having 'more heritage than' MC Alger

Mamelodi Sundowns, who reached the final of the 2024/25 edition, received a bye from the first preliminary round to set a date with Remo Stars in the second round.

The defending Premier Soccer League champions beat the Nigerian outfit 5-1 before following up with a 2-0 home win to advance 7-1 in aggregate.

Rhulani Mokwena's MC Alger beat Liberia's Fassel 3-0 in aggregate to advance to the final preliminary round against Cameroonian outfit Colombe, where they proceeded on an away goal rule [they drew 1-1 away before a goalless draw at home.

Mokwena is impressed with the history of the Algerian outfit and what they have achieved in the competition.

“I am happy with the team we have; we are improving, we are working very hard, and we understand the challenge,” he told the media.

“We are not wet behind the ears and naive; we approach the Champions League with a lot of humility, understanding that this is the fifth time the club is in the Champions League group stages.

“The last four times we were in the group stages, we progressed twice out of the group, and we progressed twice out of the group having only finished second in the group, and in the times we’ve progressed, we’ve only been able to win two games out of six, so on one hand, this gives us a lot of motivation," he added.

In Group C, Sundowns are paired with MC Alger, Al Hilal, and St Eloi Lupopo; it is not an easy pool as it may seem, but Masandawana and the North African side have a chance of making the top two positions.

Mokwena believes his team can get a result against the South African champions.

“We know what we are capable of, but we also understand football heritage that Al Hilal have more heritage in the Champions League than us, that Mamelodi Sundowns have more heritage than us in the group, but we also understand that we have all the conditions to make a very good run in the Champions League," he stated.

“We have an incredible stadium with an incredible fan base; we have an incredible facility and incredible staff. We have a hard-working and ambitious group that has a lot of experience from last season's Champions League," Mokwena concluded.

In his history as a coach, Mokwena has never won the competition despite reaching the semi-final on two different occasions with Masandawana.

He has, however, won the African Football League, AFL, that was played in the 2023/24 season, which comprised of top eight teams on the continent, as ranked during that time.

Winning the CAF Champions League will place him among the elite coaches in Africa and increase his value.

It is interesting to see how Masandawana fans will welcome him, two years after his unceremonious exit.