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The wind blows hardest at the top of the tree. We dared to dream and dared to climb. Now we must get used to the pressure that comes with it (being at the top of the tree).
Rulani Mokwena is addressing a media conference inside the auditorium at Mamelodi Sundowns’ head offices in Chloorkop. The disposable ‘coffee’ cup is in hand as it always is, and he intermittently sips out of it in between dropping lines only he can.
He has just rebuffed a suggestion that his team need to beat TP Mazembe on Saturday to finish top of their group in the CAF Champions League, ahead of the knockout phase they have already qualified for, as a way of sending a message to the rest of the continent that they mean business.
“If we still have to send a message, then there’s something wrong....” he responded, before arguing that Sundowns have long proven ‘we are one of the best teams on the continent’.
Winners of the inaugural African Football League (AFL), Sundowns are looking to win a second Champions League title following their triumph back in 2016. While he would definitely love to scratch the Brazilians’ ‘seven-year-itch’, Mokwena is not about to allow himself to be hurried.
He believes and knows that continental glory is going to happen when it is time. It is a process.
“For the last six years we have been in the quarterfinals and last season we were in the semis for the first time. We want to be a team that is always there. We want to be there all the time. It is not enough to think you can win a continental trophy without a big stamp on the continent. And that stamp means you’ve got to be in the quarterfinals and in the semifinals. This is what Al Ahly are doing, this is what Wydad are doing - they are in the quarterfinals and the semifinals every season.”
He believes Sundowns are up there with the continental giants and will eventually be crowned champions again.
“For us to take a place, and we rightfully deserve to be amongst not just the best teams on the continent but maybe the best teams in the world, we’ve got to make sure we are in that space for the continental competitions - in the semifinals, in the final competing for that space. This is the mentality we want to have so that eventually we can break the monopoly of the North African sides in terms of dominating the continental competitions. We know how difficult it is going to be because you are not only fighting against very good teams who know the space of the Champions League, but you are fighting principalities and football heritage.”
And a fight is something Mokwena does not shy away from.
“That’s the space we want to be in, fighting very hard to be the continent’s best. As long as we keep doing that, we will eventually win the Champions League and that’s part of our plan for the medium to long term. It’s something that excites me greatly.”
He is excited that they have once again qualified for the quarterfinals with a match to spare in the group phase and as he anticipated TP Mazembe’s visit to the Lucas Moripe Stadium this weekend, he could not help but ‘brag’ about where his team is at.
“When I look at where we are – number one in the (domestic) league with games in hand; (TP) Mazembe are not number one in their own league; Pyramids are not and even Ahly are not though they have a lot of games in hand. We – on the other hand – already have a trophy (the African Football League title); we were in the final of the MTN8; we have qualified for the quarterfinals. And we now need to try and be top of the group after reaching the ten points benchmark we’d set for ourselves.”
It is tough being Sundowns though because they now have a target on their back with everyone playing against them wanting the scalp of the African Football League champions many have described as the ‘best team’ on the continent.
“It’s tough, but that’s what it is. They say the wind blows hardest at the top of the tree. We dared to dream and dared to climb. Now we must get used to the pressure that comes with it.”