Mokwena Warns Of Tough Group C In Champions League
MC Alger coach Rulani Mokwena has warned that his team will face a tough challenge in Group C of the CAF Champions League this season.
The Algerian side will be taking on the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Mokwena’s former club, Al-Hilal, and Saint Eloi Lupopo in Group C, which promises to be highly competitive.
Mokwena, who won the Champions League in 2016 with Sundowns as the assistant coach, knows that his team will need to bring their A-game to stand a chance of progressing to the quarterfinals.
“My thoughts, I think it’s a difficult group, ” Mokwena said in an exclusive interview with SAFJA.
“I know a lot of people talk a lot about, of course, rightfully about Sundowns and Al-Hilal because of football heritage, and I talked a lot about that even while I was coaching in South Africa.”
Mokwena pointed out that Pyramids, the Egyptian side that won the CAF Champions League last season, is a good example of a team that has consistently performed well in the Champions League.
“Pyramids are a very good example of the group,” the 38-year-old stated.
“They won the Champions League last season, it was not after many attempts but with the same players, and it is still the same team that we faced three years ago in the group stage when I was at Sundowns.”
Despite the tough opposition, Mokwena is confident that his team can do better than last season, when they reached the quarterfinals.
“We are just grateful to be there, we appreciate the opportunity to try and do better than previously, and being in the quarterfinals for the club last season was a great achievement,” he added.
“We want to try to do better this season, and the club is very ambitious, the president is very ambitious.
“It’s going to be very interesting, and it will be a very tough group, I think. But we are very excited about the opportunity to compete and to try to do better than last season, and that’s the main objective.”
The former Sundowns mentor also highlighted the strength of Lupopo, who knocked Orlando Pirates out in the second preliminary round of this competition.
“You also still have to face Lupopo; those are the two big games, and all these three teams will give us tough games because Lupopo also beat Orlando Pirates, and we know how Pirates are playing this season, ” he concluded.
“They beat Pirates convincingly in Congo, and I watched both games, even the second leg in Orlando, and they will be a very difficult team, and they are very well coached.”
MC Alger’s first game in the group stage will be against Al-Hilal in Sudan on 21 November, followed by a home game against Sundowns on 28 November 28.
