Osaka‚ Japan - Mamelodi Sundowns will be back at next year’s Fifa Club World Cup in United Arab Emirates‚ they will learn their lessons from this year’s tournament in Japan and they will be better‚ said the Brazilians' defender Wayne Arendse.
The Club World Cup has been an eye-opener for Downs‚ and the best kind of learning experience that a South African football club with a worthy ambition of trying to become a global competitor could have asked for.
They lost both their matches in Japan.
But Downs were so enthused by the experience that the players were raving even immediately after a deflating 4-1 fifth-place playoff defeat against South Korea’s Jeonduk Hyundai Motors that they will win the Caf Champions League again next year‚ and be back on this stage to do things a little better.
Club president Patrice Motsepe even went to Downs’ change-room after the game at Osaka’s Suita City Football Stadium on Wednesday night and said as much‚ assuring the players they would have all the backing to be back at the CWC in a year.
Arendse explained exactly how difficult it was for Downs in their 2-0 quarterfinal defeat against host club Kashima Antlers and loss against Jeonduk to try to match opponents who were quicker-thinking‚ better organised and quicker to the ball.
“They’re very quick‚ always getting first to the ball‚ very sharp and well organised tactically.
"So we saw those things‚ and we also need to apply it in our game as well‚” Downs’ centreback said.
“We need to be quicker‚ sharper tactically‚ and more ruthless in the box.
"These small differences‚ shielding the ball‚ all those small details are what the Asian teams do best.”
There are parallels to be drawn between Sundowns’ first CWC and their first unsuccessful forays into continental football under coach Pitso Mosimane.
In the Champions League‚ Downs went home after defeats‚ reinvented their approach and won this year’s competition.
The CWC has revealed much.
One challenge for Downs was that it was clear that their Asian counterparts play at a high intensity in their domestic leagues.
“They go through this week in and week out.
"Whereas for us‚ at home‚ we don’t see this often‚” Arendse said.
“But as the coach emphasised‚ there was a year in the Champions League where we got hammered 3-1 by TP Mazembe.
“And we learnt from that.
"We went back and we rectified those things. And then we were better and we improved and we won the Champions League.
“It’s different levels‚ from the PSL‚ to Africa‚ to here.
“This year we were playing in our first game in the Fifa Club World Cup.
"Now we saw those things. Now we need to go back and improve.
“We’re going to find ourselves back here in the next Club World Cup.
"It’s a global stage‚ and that’s the stage we want to be on. And we need to try to improve and step up our game so we can compete on that stage.”
Arendse’s assessment of the difference between the Asian forwards Downs’ defenders encountered in Japan‚ and those at home‚ was revealing.
“I think they take more responsibility and the initiative.
"They see the moments of the game‚ and if something doesn’t work‚ they do something else very quickly‚” he said.
“They don’t just go through the motions‚ where they are like‚ ‘I’m taking the run because I have to’. Everything is sharper and quicker and they work off each other‚ and do it collectively.
“And you can see that on the pitch. No-one is walking. Everyone is moving constantly.
“So I think if you can see this‚ it just tells us that we need to step up. And if we can take all this and put it in SA and African football‚ we will be a force to reckon with back home.”
Bring on United Arab Emirates 2017.
* Marc Strydom is in Japan as a guest of Mamelodi Sundowns
- TMG Digital
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