JOHANNESBURG - “For us it was all about rubbing shoulders with the best.”
With these words, Muhsin Ertugral went down the CAF Super Cup memory lane during his time with Kaizer Chiefs in 2002 when Amakhosi were unfortunately hammered 4-1 by
Africa’s most successful team in Al Ahly.
The Super Cup has once again become of keen interest to South Africans with Mamelodi Sundowns - the 2016 CAF Champions League winners - hosting TP Mazembe, who were crowned Confederation Cup champions in the same year, at Loftus on Saturday.
Chiefs travelled to Cairo almost 15 years ago full of hope and already having made their mark on the continent by winning the then African Cup Winners’ Cup, but Al Ahly proved too strong.
“It was a prestigious tournament in the eyes of the chairman (Chiefs boss Kaizer Motaung) and he would have loved for the club to play at home,” Ertugral recalled. “We had already achieved continental recognition and I even got a job offer from Ismaily (Egypt) after we beat them in the quarter-finals.
"We thought winning the Super Cup would take us to another level, but it wasn’t to be. I thought we started strong, but we conceded an early goal from defensive mistakes. I remember Cyril Nzama scoring the equaliser. We were, however, not strong enough to keep up with a club that had been named the team of the century. And one of the goals was from their goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary from his own half. Unbelievable.”
It’s Sundowns’ turn to fly the SA flag this weekend as they face a Mazembe team that is not as successful as Al Ahly, but still one of the strongest sides in Africa. They have 10 continental titles to back that up. Ertugral argued that the Brazilians should have been given the week off by the PSL instead of having to play away to Chippa United in Mdantsane on Tuesday night where they drew 1-1.
“I feel Sundowns and coach Pitso (Mosimane) should have had time off to prepare. South Africa should realise the international recognition Sundowns brought to the domestic league,” said Ertugral. “If they win this, it might just motivate them to do well on the continent.”