Rulani Mokwena on why Al Ahly will be problematic this season

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has explained why Al Ahly will be troublesome in the CAF Champions League this season.

The Brazilians were drawn in Group B with the Club of the Century, Al Hilal and Coton Sport.

Coincidentally, the Tshwane giants were in the same group as Al Ahly and Al Hilal in the previous campaign.

Earlier this year, Sundowns defeated Al Ahly in both home and away fixtures in the group stages of the Champions League, claiming six points from the Egyptian giants.

However, Mokwena feels that things won’t be the same as in the previous campaign after the Red Devils have made technical team changes and strengthened their squad.

MOKWENA – WHY AL AHLY WILL BE PROBLEMATIC THIS SEASON

“It’s always difficult to travel to Cairo, Al Ahly is always difficult to play away from home,” Mokwena told Sundowns media department

“Not just the environment and the hostility around travelling to Cairo and playing in their backyard but they’ve changed the coaches and also made improvements in the squad.

“So, technically, it’s gonna be a little bit different.

“We’ve already seen a couple of their games but now we have to zoom in with a little bit of a technical focus.

“We are analysts already working around the clock to get as much information as we possibly can.”

Al Ahly parted ways with their previous coach Pitso Mosimane in June and replaced him with Ricardo Soares who was dismissed after just two months in charge.

The Swiss manager Marcel Koller took over from Soares in September and has it all under control after winning all ten games he has overseen to date.

The rivalry between Sundowns and Al Ahly has grown into one of the biggest fixtures in the African continent as this will be the fifth consecutive season in which the two clubs meet in this competition.

Mokwena went on to explain what they expect from the ten-time African Champions.

‘IT HAS BECOME A BIG FIXTURE’

“But of course over the years, this has become a big fixture,” he added.

“Both home and away, it’s gonna be very strategic and tactical. 

“We expect that, particularly because we know how Al Ahly always seem to play against Sundowns.”

“The personality that they adopt both in the home matches and the away matches is completely a different team and different approach.

“But it will be a very interesting game for sure [between] two teams that know each other very well and have enough quality to compete against each other.”

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