Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has discussed whether the standard in the PSL is good enough to prepare the club for the CAF Champions League.
Sundowns have dominated the domestic league for the sixth season running but have found the going tough in the CAF Champions League after they bowed out in the quarterfinals for three seasons in a row last term.
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The Brazilians' struggles in the top tier continental club competition have been compared to Paris Saint-Germain, who also despite their huge financial resources, found it difficult over the years to impress in the UEFA Champions League (they reached their first ever final in the continental tournament in 2020 and lost to Bayern Munich).
There were suggestions emanating from bookmakers in Europe that PSG can't crack it in the UEFA Champions League consistently because they don't have strong rivals in the French Ligue 1, where they are completely dominant.
The same argument could be levelled at Sundowns as Mokwena was asked whether the standard in the PSL is strong enough to adequately prepare them for tough battles in the CAF Champions League.
"We'll only know once we go to it but the PSL is extremely competitive. You know sometimes you win games and people think it's a God given right to win games," Mokwena told the media in a press conference.
"It's not. It's very difficult to win matches in the PSL and you only have to look at why others are not doing what we're doing, it's because it's very difficult, because otherwise everybody would do it," he said.
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The 36-year old gaffer, however, went on to suggest that Sundowns do need a strong rival in the league to take them to another level.
"If you look at different teams, Real Madrid, to go to a different level, needed a Barca (Barcelona), Bayern (Bayern Munich) needed a (Borussia) Dortmund at times to push them," he carried on.
"And you go, Man City needed a Liverpool. You know without a rival going extremely intense with you, it becomes very difficult psychologically to continue on an upward trajectory," he added.
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