Solinas likens Sundowns to Real and Barcelona

The Absa Premiership 2018/19 season kicked off this past weekend with the grand fixture being defending champions Masandawana against Amakhosi who squared off in the capital city.

“Sundowns are the best team in South Africa. In the last three championships they won two. That means they are a stronger team and Pitso Mosimane is a fantastic coach. They have quality players and they won the Champions League,” Solinas said.

READ: Solinas feels no pressure in Chiefs hot seat

“This means they start a process and prepare the team to win and now Sundowns are a winner team. When you play against Sundowns it is a tough game, a lot of teams lose to Sundowns because Sundowns are like Real Madrid or Barcelona.

“For me it is normal to compare Sundowns to Real Madrid because they are a big club on the continent, the same with Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United,” he added.

The Italian-born coach went on to admire the Brazilians’ brand of football and urged the Amakhosi faithful to be patient with him if they want to see Chiefs replicate Downs’ game.

“The expectations in the bigger club are very high but sometimes a big club stays in a period of transition and doesn’t win trophies because you need time in football. In football you need the time to prepare and you need that process,” said Solinas.

READ: Sundowns held by Chiefs in season opener at Loftus

Mosimane echoed Solinas sentiments while emphasising that expectations are sky-high at Sundowns.

“It was a close encounter, it was not easy. It is not the best time to play them because in the past two weeks they lost in the cup and they would redouble their efforts for the integrity of the club and that’s what they did,” he said.

“What is important is for Sundowns to win a trophy every year that is what I like, it’s the right mentality. It is in the culture of the club, it is the way of behaviour, you can’t play for fun, we are a big club and we can do better than that,” he added.