‘We’re going to sell an African product and compete with the rest of the world,’ he said.
Mamelodi Sundowns senior coach Steve Komphela has assured fans that the team will remain committed to their possession-based style of play at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.
Speaking ahead of the team’s departure to the United States on Sunday for the expanded 32-team tournament, Komphela emphasised the importance of maintaining their footballing identity on the global stage.
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“This is a world cup and it’s only that it’s a world cup for clubs but the mandate and the theme remains the same. We’re going to sell an African product and compete with the rest of the world,” he said.
“As Africans what are we bringing to the table and it should not be Mamelodi Sundowns going to the club world cup to compete but it should be an African team.
“When they profile us, they don’t profile Mamelodi Sundowns only, they go deeper to profile an African athlete. The qualities, characteristics, weaknesses and strengths of an African team and then they will go deeper into the details of every individual.”
The Brazilians will kick off their group stage campaign at Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, where they face South Korean side Ulsan HD on 17 June. They will then take on German giants Borussia Dortmund at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, before concluding the group stage against Brazilian outfit Fluminense at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
“We can’t move away from the fact that we are African and our qualities and characteristics we’ll forever remain African,” Komphela added.
“As we go out there to export this culture and this sport, we’re going to reflect what African football is all about. We can’t be far from what Africans stand for in terms of playing the game so that’s one thing we have to be mindful about when we go to the club World Cup.
“When we land in the US, they are not going to say this is a Club World Cup team, they will say this is an African team. We are African and we need to take pride in that.”
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The tournament gets underway in the early hours of Sunday morning with a high-profile clash between African heavyweights Al-Ahly and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. The other African representatives are Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca and Tunisia’s Espérance.
