It's taken them nine years but Mamelodi Sundowns are finally in another CAF Champions League final. After booking a spot in the final, Soccer Laduma looks back to see where the group which won the competition in 2016 are at the moment.
Sundowns will face an Egyptian team for the third time in a Champions League final. Pyramids will be their opponents in the final in May, after playing Al Ahly and Zamalek in the finals of 2001 and 2016 respectively.
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They beat Al Ahly on away goals in the semi-finals, as a 1-1 second leg result in Cairo last Friday secured a spot in the final, which brought about huge relief after they had been trying for years on end to break the semi-final jinx.
Ahead of next month's final, we take a look at where the players who started the second leg clash against Zamalek in 2016 are.
Denis Onyango. The Ugandan started the game, but was taken off after 29 minutes with an injury, replaced by Wayne Sandilands. Onyango is one of two players still in the first team at Sundowns, but is now second choice to Ronwen Williams.
Asavela Mbekile: Mbekile joined Orlando Pirates after leaving Sundowns and
Thabo Nthethe: He joined Chippa United after leaving Sundowns in 2018 and went on to sign for Baroka and TS Galaxy afterwards. He is currently part of the technical team at Casric Stars in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Bangaly Soumahoro: The big Ivorian defender started in central defence alongside Nthethe and helped the Tshwane giants secure success on the continent. The 33-year-old was last at Al-Salam in Oman.
Tebogo Langerman: He joined Swallows after leaving Sundowns and was later in the ABC Motsepe League as a player coach at Limpopo outfit Sunrise FC. Langerman, who scored a beauty of a goal in the first leg, started with his coaching badges, acquiring a D License.
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Hlompho Kekana: He made history by becoming the first player to captain Sundowns to continental success and now he works at the club, as part of their Pitchside Podcast team with Teko Modise and DJ Naves. He is also an analyst on SABC.
Tiyani Mabunda: He formed a deadly midfield combination with Kekana, but he brought his career to an end earlier than most would have expected. Since his retirement in , Mabunda has been working at Sundowns.
Percy Tau: He is one of the few players still playing professionally. After a spell in Europe, Tau returned to have success with Al Ahly and moved to Qatar earlier this year to join Qatar SC.
Keagan Dolly: After the Champions League success, Dolly had the chance to test himself on European soil in the French Ligue 1 with Montpellier. Injury hampered his progress before he returned to play for Kaizer Chiefs, with little success there. He joined TS Galaxy earlier this season and is in a good position to get a contract extension, with the club having an option to take a one-year option.
Anthony Laffor: The man who scored one of the goals in the first leg left Sundowns in 2020 was without a club since leaving Chippa in 2021, until he made a return at age 39 to sign a two-year deal with Ship Corporate Registry FC.
Khama Billiat: A star man in the Sundowns team at the time, Billiat is currently playing in the Zimbabwean Premier League for Scottland FC, a club he joined in January from Yadah FC.
