Mamelodi Sundowns have set new standards of competitiveness for a Southern African team in the Caf Champions League, but they often remain challenged by a key ingredient — that of pedigree — when they reach the semifinals.
The billions of rand of owner Patrice Motsepe, who has stepped aside for son Tlhopie Motsepe to run the club while he serves his term as Confederation of African Football president, have transformed Downs into annual Champions League group and knockout stage competitors. Yet when they reach the last four, Sundowns come up against teams with more continental titles, many more years of existence and that edge in experience.
A 105-year history cannot be bought. That is how old Espérance Sportive de Tunis are. They have four Champions League titles. Sundowns have won one, in 2016. It is the same when Downs clash against Al Ahly (116 years old, 11 Champions League titles) and Wydad Athletic (86 years, three Champions League trophies).
That pedigree, and some other advantages of North African clubs — among them geographical location close to Europe, financial weight, the strength of the domestic leagues they compete in and the vociferousness of their home support — are what maintain their dominance, and make it hard for Downs to reach another final.
Against Espérance, Downs will have high hopes in their semifinal tie to be played in Tunis on Saturday night (9pm) and next Friday’s second leg at Loftus Versfeld.
Wydad, so often their stumbling block at this stage, are having a poor season by their standards and went out in the group stage. Downs received a big confidence boost winning the inaugural African Football League title in November — beating Wydad in the final and Ahly in the semifinals — to add a second continental trophy to the cabinet. Espérance lost to Wydad in the semis.
Though tiring from playing in six competitions, Downs have perhaps their best chance of another Champions League semifinal this campaign.
TimesLIVE Premium looks at the key points you need to know about Espérance and Saturday's semifinal away-leg match:
The opposition club:
Founded in the Café de L'Espérance in the Bab Souika neighbourhood of Tunis in 1919 at the height of French colonial rule in Tunisia, ES Tunis have won the most league titles (32) in that country. They have 13 continental titles including the Caf Champions League in 1994, 2011, 2018, 2019 and the Arab Club Champions Cup three times (1993, 2009 and 2017).
They lead the eight-team playoff stage of this season’s Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 by six points from US Monastir after four matches. Espérance won their Group B (two groups of eight teams compete in the opening half of the season) by six points from Monastir.
They qualified for this season’s Champions League as the 2022-23 Ligue 1 runners-up. Espérance beat AS Douanes of Burkina Faso 1-0 on aggregate in the second preliminary round and finished second in Group C to Petro de Luanda. They saw off Ivory Coast's Asec Mimosa's 4-2 on penalties (after a 0-0 aggregate score) in the quarterfinals.
The opposition coach:
Espérance’s 51-year-old Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso has had a chequered career.
After coming through the ranks in FC Porto's youth structures, then various stints as an assistant coach, he did well in his debut head coaching season at Rio Ave in 2017-18, leading them to their joint-best finish of fifth place in the Primeira Liga.
He took a career-advancing step replacing Claudio Ranieri at French club Nantes in June 2018, but lasted just three-and-a-half months before being fired having accumulated six points in eight Ligue 1 games. A month later Cardoso became Celta Vigo coach where he fared little better, lasting just under five months before being fired in March 2019 with the club a place and two points above the La Liga relegation zone.
Again he did not wait long for a job, joining AEK Athens in May 2019. He suffered his third dismissal in a year after four matches. Cardoso went back to Rio Ave in January 2021 but could not replicate his earlier success as they ended 16th in 2020-21 and were relegated via a playoff before the coach was fired again.
He had been out of a job for two-and-a-half years before landing the position at Espérance in January where he clinched last season’s league runners-up place, is on course for the title in 2023-24 and has reached a Champions League semifinal.
The opposition players:
The core of Cardoso’s team has remained constant in the Champions League this season and Sundowns counterpart Rulani Mokwena and his analysis team will have a good idea what to expect over the two legs.
Goalkeeper Amanallah Memmiche, just 19, has played every Champions League game this campaign and almost all Espérance’s domestic matches, and is regarded as a future Tunisia star. The defence of left-back Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida and central pillars Yassine Meriah and Algerian Mohamed Amine Tougai have also been ever-present, while Mohamed Ben Ali has played most matches at right-back.
Meriah played for Tunisia against Bafana Bafana in the 0-0 group draw at the Africa Cup of Nations in January and was one of two Espérance squad members in Ivory Coast. Central midfield rock Houssem Tka was the other — he has also been ever-present in the Champions League. They are key players in Espérance conceding just three goals in the competition.
Two Brazilians, signed in August and September last year, are the crucial players in attack. Yan Sasse has four goals in all competitions this season from right wing or deep striker and Rodrigo Rodrigues is the club’s top scorer with six goals at centre-forward.
The stadium:
The Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi in the Tunis suburb of Radès has 60,000 seats. It hosted the 2004 Nations Cup final where Tunisia beat Morocco 2-1.
The officials:
Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be assisted by Mohammed Abdallah Ibrahim (Sudan) and Abdourazak Ahmed (Djibouti). Ethiopian Bamlak Tessema Weyesa is the fourth official. Maria Packuita Rivet (Mauritius) and her Algerian assistant Lahlou Benbraham are the video assistant referee (VAR) team.
