Failing to win Champions League won’t be failure, says Sundowns’ Lebusa

At this point, Mamelodi Sundowns are counted as the favourites to win the Caf Champions League given their impeccable form in the group stages of the competition, where they so far amassed 13 points.

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The Brazilians can add to that tally when they take on Al-Merrikh in the final round of the group stages at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.

This match is a dead rubber, as Sundowns have already booked their place in the quarterfinals of the competition.

Sundowns defender, Mosa Lebusa, understands that the expectation is for them to go all the way and claim the Champions League trophy for the second time after winning it in 2016, but he says if Sundowns does not win it, it won’t be much of a fuss.

“The season won’t be a failure if we don’t win the Champions League. We always give it our all and sometimes we don’t win games and the Champions League does not define us. What we know is that we stand a very good chance this season and we really give it everything. Most of the teams are aware of what we are capable of, we went to Cairo and got three points and not many teams can do that. But we still have a long way to go,” said Lebusa.

Masandawana only conceded two goals so far, and that speaks of how clinical they have been in defence, even in the DStv Premiership where they only shipped in 12 goals.

Lebusa says despite the tough opponents in Group A – which includes defending champions Al-Ahly, they managed to get the job done way ahead of time.  

“We had three teams that gave us a run for our money but at the end of the day what helps is that we focus on what we can do. We went to Cairo and spent two weeks there and fortunately came back with four points. When we got back home, we finished the job and we genuinely do not care what other teams do, we just focus on what we have to do to get to the next stage,” he said, before he welcomed the return of spectators. The FNB Stadium may host about 45 000 fans on Saturday.

“We have been waiting for the opportunity to play in front of our fans and it is the last few games of the season and we are really happy that our fans will be able to watch us. We missed their support and hopefully they will give us a boost when we play our Champions League games.”