Vilakazi eyes Champions League title

The Brazilians striker signed from Wits last season and was not allowed to play for Sundowns in last year’s Champions League, having already played in the competition for the Clever Boys.

He is available for this year’s competition, however, and scored his first goal in the 2017 Champions League in Sundowns’ last match, as they picked up an excellent 3-1 win at AS Vita.

Sundowns now have four points from their opening two games in Group C, following an opening goalless draw at home to Ethiopia’s St George.

READ: Sundowns want to shed ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ tag

On Friday, Sundowns continue their campaign with a home game against Tunisian giants Esperance.

“The Champions League is very exciting for me,” says Vilakazi.

“I enjoy travelling and seeing other countries and experiencing the vibe and the crowds for the opponents we play. Most importantly (just) to participate in the Champions League is wonderful … for me it is a very deep feeling. I want to win things with the team and do it again and take another star.”

Vilakazi goes on to describe the game against Esperance on Friday as “crucial”.

“It has been fairly ok (so far),” he says.

“We were able to get four points out of the two games we played, we drew at home and won away, we find ourselves equal with Esperance on top. That brings us to tomorrow’s game, it is most important for us because w eare playing at home, we must try by all means to use our home ground advantage. Obviously we know Esperance have been dominant in the past few years, they are formidable and it will not be an easy victory.”