‘A few minutes to celebrate as South Africans’

Pitso Mosimane (l) celebrates with players in change room after Sundowns win the 2016 CAF Champions League Final beating Zamalek 3-1 on aggregate at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt. �Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Pitso Mosimane (l) celebrates with players in change room after Sundowns win the 2016 CAF Champions League Final beating Zamalek 3-1 on aggregate at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt. �Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Published Oct 24, 2016

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Alexandria – Mamelodi Sundowns picked a grand and intimidating stage to make history as they became African champions for the first time on Sunday. They did that in front of a packed Borg El-Arab Stadium in Egypt where 70 000 fans spurred Zamalek on to overturn their 3-0 loss from the first leg of the CAF Champions League final. The White Knights could only register a 1-0 win, paving the way for the Brazilians to be crowned kings of Africa.

“This is a humble contribution from Mamelodi Sundowns for South Africa. It’s a great, great honour to represent your country. We are honoured that we can bring this trophy back for all South Africans. When we win the league, that’s for our fans but this is for all South Africans. We have had a few difficulties as a country in these past couple of weeks, particularly with the challenges concerning the fees at university that some students can't afford. This will give us a few minutes to celebrate as South Africans.” – Sundowns’ president Patrice Motsepe.

“This has been long overdue. Orlando Pirates have carried us for a long time. You must win the Champions League at home. You can’t come here for a result or look for a goal. You saw what happened (in terms of the atmosphere we played in). It’s a big lesson for us. If you want to win this cup, you must win your games at home. We won all our games at home. We scored goals at home. There is no other way of winning the Champions League. Win your games at home and make sure that you have a cushion to protect when you travel.” – Sundowns’ coach Pitso Mosimane.

“I am very excited and very happy for Sundowns. Everything went according to plan. They knew what they were supposed to do and what was expected. They stuck to the plan. They never panicked but brought the glory home. The job was done in South Africa. The boys have done us proud. Sundowns have pulled us from the doldrums and made us able to walk tall in the world after they beat the best in the continent. Now we are going to Japan for the Fifa Club World Cup. What a victory! What a performance! This is historic!” – Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula.

“It’s been a fantastic year, not only for me but also the club and the national team (Uganda). As a nation we qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations after 39 years and now I am a part of the Sundowns team that won the Champions League for the first time. This is incredible. The guys gave it their best. I am the first Ugandan to win the Champions League. I hope that the other ones will also get a chance to win it in the future. I received a lot of messages from home, wishing me well. Now I am an African champion.” – Sundowns and Uganda’s No. 1 goalkeeper Denis Onyango.

Independent Media

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