THE GAME between Mamelodi Sundowns and Esperance de Tunis is important in different ways for both teams, their encounter is eagerly awaited by African football fans this weekend.
Sundowns will face Esperance in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Caf Champions League tomorrow at 9 pm, at Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Rades, Tunisia.
The second leg will be played at Lucas Moripe Stadium, Pretoria, next Saturday.
The match between these teams is similar to that of a grudge since last season they played each other in this round of the competition, Sundowns won and they were the ones who ended up playing in the final against Pyramids of Egypt and lost 2-1.
Since the teams first met in the Champions League in the 2017 season, Esperance has shown dominance over the Sandawanas, defeating them 2-1 in the group stage in 2017.
Even in the 2023/24 season, coached by Miguel Cardoso, Taraji once again gave a blow to the Sandawanas, defeating them 1-0 in the semi-finals of this competition, and went on to the finals where they were defeated by Al Ahly.
However, last season, the Sandawanas turned the tables when Cardoso sharpened them, returning the batons to this Tunisian team with a 1-0 victory, securing a place in the finals.
The Sandawanas won the Champions League in the 2016 season, and have reached the semi-finals for three consecutive seasons, including the finals last season, so they are under a lot of pressure to change their ways this season to end the streak of not winning the African Cup.
Hlompho Kekana, who was the engine of the midfield and captain when the Sandawanas won the Champions League title in 2016, sees this team from Pretoria as having a chance to win the competition this season as long as they can move Esperance to the semi-finals.
“Sundowns have been knocking for the Champions League for a long time. Last year we were telling ourselves that it was time to take the trophy but it was not right. Esperance and Sundowns are teams that know each other, so Sundowns knows what to expect from the match they will play in Tunisia.” said Kekana.
“It will be very important for Sundowns to score in Tunisia to put themselves in a better position to finish the job in the second leg at home.
“I believe that if Sundowns cannot beat Esperance, they will have a great chance to win the Champions Cup because these other teams, Berkane and FAR Rabat, are not teams that can burden them that much.”
Kekana emphasized the importance of the experience of players including Teboho Mokoena and Themba “Mshishi” Zwane in this game.
“It is time for players like Teboho Mokoena to show their experience in this competition, especially Mshishi, who is himself and Onyango (Denis) who are still from the 2016 team that won this cup.”
Caf Champions League semi-final matches:
Today – At 9pm:
FAR Rabat v RS Berkane (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium)
Tomorrow – At 9pm:
Esperance Tunis v Mamelodi Sundowns (Hammadi Agrebi Stadium)