Sports

Mamelodi Sundowns' Manqoba Mngqithi Speaks on Facing Pitso Mosimane

Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 10:44 AM by Phumzile Ngcatshe

- Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi says they are ready to face Al Ahly's Pitso Mosimane

- Mngqithi warns that Sundowns must not be emotional against the former coach, who is in charge of the Egyptian giants

- Mngqithi says he is working with 'monsters' who are hungry for success, suggesting they don't fear anyone

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As they are yet to taste defeat in the CAF Champions League so far, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi says they don't have sleepless nights over the possibility of meeting Al Ahly.

The Brazilians, as the Sundowns are known to their fans, have amassed four consecutive victories in Group B and have already qualified for the quarter-finals.

After their 1-0 win over TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday at home in Tshwane, Mngqithi shared his thoughts on facing the Red Devils from the North in the next stage.

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Coached by former Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane, Mngqithi's boss, the former Golden Arrows manager explains they will have to avoid becoming emotional against the four-time Premier Soccer League winner.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi is ready to face Al Ahly. Image: @Mamelodi Sundowns/Twitter
Source: Twitter

Mngqithi told the media in a virtual press conference:

"Facing Pitso, or facing any other coach, for me it should never be an emotional game. I always look at the game and the opponents. I'm working with monsters here who do a lot of good work behind the scenes to make sure that we know [everything] about any opponent we are playing against.”

Having claimed 12 points against their opponents in the form of Mazembe, Al Hilal, CR Belouizdad, the Tshwane giants are guaranteed a top spot in the group at the end of the group stage campaign. He added:

"The most important thing is to get to the quarter-final because this thing of avoiding big boys and all that also has a lot of dynamics. If we happen to play against Al Ahly, we wouldn't have avoided a big boy then, so to be honest there's no avoiding anyone.

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"Once you get into the last eight of the Champions League, you are most likely to face teams that have won the competition – if you avoid Al Ahly, you might find Esperance; if you don't find Esperance, you'll find Wydad. But you are always likely to face one of the big six teams."

Meanwhile, Sundowns will look to reach the final of the continental showpiece and clinch their second trophy following their win over another Egyptian side, Zamalek, back in 2016 under Mosimane's guidance.

In other news, Briefly.co.za reported that Masandawana striker Peter Shalulile was recently voted as the Player of the Month for February, an accolade he shared with AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy.

At the same time, this website also reported on the club's former president Patrice Motsepe, who was elected as the new CAF president but has since vacated his seat as the club's boss.