Bafana Bafana stars Khuliso Mudau, Ronwen Williams and Aubrey Modiba will be key to Mamelodi Sundiowns' success over Tunisian giants Esperance in the Caf Champions League second leg semifinal at the Loftus Stadium at 8pm on Friday.
This is the view of Bafana and Sundowns legend Linda Buthelezi, who added Namibian striker Peter Shalulile to his list of four Sundowns players he sees as vital to Rulani Mokwena's team overturning a 1-0 defeat the Brazilians suffered in Rades, Tunisia, last Saturday.
“These players are key to how Sundowns play, and I believe they'll deliver the result for Mokwena against a team I expect to park the bus (to be defensive) in defending their 1-0 lead from the first leg,” Buthelezi, who was part of the late Clive Barker's team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996, said.
Brazilian striker Yan scored in the 41st minute at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi to give Esperance, four-time (1994, 2011, 2018, 2019) winners of this competition a vital edge going to the second leg.
But Buthelezi said it will be third time lucky for the team he represented between 1995 and 1998 to progress to the final, having failed to do so twice after reaching the penultimate round in 2018-2019 and last season.
“Sundowns won the competition in 2016 and their losses in semifinals in 2019 and last year should give them big motivation,” said Buthelezi who earned the moniker of 'Mercedes-Benz' for the way he used to control things in Bafana's engine room playing alongside Eric Tinkler.
“Shalulile should not be starved of the ball and I hope Sundowns don't spend a lot of time trying to build slowly from the back as they usually do. This game demands that they play in the opposition half and force them to make mistakes there.
“Should Esperance get some chances, which I anticipate will only come from set pieces, I expect Williams to command his area and rescue his team. If Mudau on the right and Modiba on the left produce their A game, especially in support of the strikers from the flanks, I don't see Sundowns struggling to get the goals.”
Mokwena spoke of his worry about Esperance coming to Pretoria not to play but to defend their lead to go to the final where they'll meet either Egyptian giants Al Ahly or TP Mazembe of DR Congo.
Buthelezi added that Sundowns and their fans should go to Friday's encounter with a positive mind.
“There's no point in dwelling on how the opposition will line up. We know for a fact that they'll do nothing but defend because Sundowns are superior when it comes to ball playing. It's all about the patience and creating those opportunities, and it's good that Sundowns has a player like Shalulile who can score with just a half a chance that he gets.”
Sundowns are going to Friday's match hoping that Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena would have fully recovered from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the first leg.
Mokoena has helped Sundowns in a number of major encounters this season, contributing critical goals in tight matches and Buthelezi agrees that his presence will boost the Brazilians chances of winning the match.
These days 54-year-old Buthelezi spends his days fine-tuning future football stars via his LB Sports, an organisation that provides programmes that include schools sports, community sports, corporate sports, brand activation, motivational talks, ambassadorship, talent identification and placements.
“It's a way I give back to what football gave to me. But all this will be put on hold on Friday as we wish Sundowns the best of luck in their encounter against Esperance. I'm very positive they'll earn the required result and go to the final.”
Sundowns won the Champions in 2016 with Pitso Mosimane, but their sole triumph makes them looks like minnows compared to the other three semi-finalists, Ahly (11 titles), Mazembe (five titles) and Esperance (four), who have 20 titles between them.
“Sundowns have a chance to write their own history and I have no doubt they'll show everyone that they're capable by overcoming Esperance,” said Buthelezi, who also played for Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in his illustrious and trophy-laden career.
