Mamelodi Sundowns' trajectory in the African Football League could elevate them to a level of a European club, as head coach Rulani Mokwena continues to raise the bar high.
The Brazilians reached the final of the AFL without conceding a goal. Then they conceded and lost a continental game for the first time under Mokwena after a 2-1 loss to Wydad Casablanca in the final's first-leg.
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It's quite remarkable that Sundowns did not concede against Petro de Luanda in the AFL quarter-final second-leg after Mothobi Mvala was red-carded in the second minute of the game.
The Tshwane giants are yet to lose a domestic league game since Mokwena was appointed head coach in October 2022 and the Brazilians have now moved into a space where they are compared with European teams.
Sundowns are also recently beating North African giants like Al Ahly in continental games, who were for a long time and maybe still are considered the best team on the continent (though the Red Devils are yet to beat the Brazilians in their last seven meetings and Sundowns have won four of those games, including a 5-2 thrashing in March this year).
Before they establish themselves as the best in Africa, the Brazilians have a lot to prove in the AFL final second-leg against Wydad.
Former SuperSport United and Bafana Bafana captain Bongani Khumalo says Sundowns' exploits in Africa's richest club competition had him wondering where they would rank in a European context and believes from his experience after playing in Greece that, hypothetically speaking, the Brazilians could win the Greek top flight league.
"They've been brilliant (in the AFL), everyone can see the PSL is too easy for them, in my opinion, having played in Greece, Sundowns can play in Greece and top that league as well to be fair," Khumalo said on Playing the Field with Shakes YouTube Channel.
"I believe that. It actually hit me the other day that the way that they play, in terms of their tempo and the quality they produce. In my head I was like where would they stand in the Greek league? I've played in Greece but obviously I can't put a gauge of where it is now, the level is a lot better and higher than where it was back then.
"But you wonder whether a team like Sundowns would flourish in a European league context because as you can see now in the African League where they are. It tells a story," he said.
Considering that a club like Al Ahly have won bronze medals at the FIFA Club World Cup multiple times, it highlights that top clubs in Africa should be taken more seriously in terms of their abilities to compete against clubs from other continents.
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