JOHANNESBURG – The seeds that were planted in 2013, 2015 and last year are starting to bear fruit.
For a change, three South African clubs are one round away from reaching the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup while Mamelodi Sundowns, the reigning African champions, have booked their place in the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
The revolution is not complete, but the signs of that being close are there as local clubs are starting to do well in the continent.
Before Orlando Pirates reached the group stage of the 2013 Champions League, no South African team had done that in seven years just like no club had reached that phase in the Confederation Cup in eight years when the Buccaneers did it in 2015. Even though Pirates lost in the final in both years, the stigma of South African teams not being good enough was removed.
Sundowns proved that by defying the odds to lift the Champions League last year, ending the country's 21-year wait.
The Brazilians have built on that run to reach the group stage of the expanded Champions League. Bidvest Wits, who were demoted from the Champions League, Platinum Stars and SuperSport United will look to follow in the Brazilians' footsteps by succeeding in the Confederation Cup in the play-offs next month. It’s a big deal that at this stage all four clubs are still standing in the continent.
“Some people have said that clubs are taking it seriously now,” SuperSport coach Stuart Baxter, who has previously been accused of not taking these competitions seriously, said. “It’s not the case. Clubs have had more experience of it. They’ve seen Sundowns and Pirates do well. We know more about it, which is why we don’t react negatively when we travel and realise that we are playing in a terrible pitch after a long journey. We just get on with the show. That’s important. The progress the league is making is also a reflection of that success in the continent.”
SuperSport reached this stage the hard way. They took two flights to reach Khartoum before driving for more than 200km to Shendi. But not once did they complain. Their B-team scored two away goals in the 3-2 loss to Al-Ahly Shendi in boiling hot temperatures before thumping the Sudanese side 4-0 in the home leg.
“I trained when we were there and I was in bits,” Baxter said. “I don’t know how the players felt playing in 38°C on a terrible pitch. But they dug it out and did well. It’s a sign of togetherness because we changed the team a bit.”
In the past South African clubs would have wilted from that pressure. But being exposed to those conditions regularly has made our players stronger mentally.
Teams also box cleverly now. Instead of taking a coastal team to the coast, like Pirates did with Angola’s Recreativo do Libolo in 2012, clubs now use the most of their home advantage.
Wits played against Al-Ahly during the day because the Egyptians normally play at night while Sundowns took on Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) at night because they play during the day. SuperSport scheduled their game on a chilly and windy night against Shendi who are used to playing in the heat. Stars have been resilient. A comfortable league position has given them freedom to go all out in Africa.