‘Best in Africa Sundowns’ lauded – ‘When you concede, coming back is a fantasy’

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TS Galaxy head coach Adnan Beganovic is convinced defending Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns are probably the best not only in Mzansi but the entire continent.

Masandawana have been doing well in the country, winning the last seven league outings in the process. Last season, they reached the Caf Champions League semi-final and won the inaugural African Football League. They are among the teams that will play in the expanded 2025 Fifa Club World Cup.

This season, they have already played 18 PSL games, and managed to collect 48 points in the process. They suffered two defeats so far; they lost by a solitary goal against TS Galaxy before losing 4-1 in the second meeting.

‘When you concede vs Sundowns, coming back is a fantasy'

Marcelo Allende against TS Galaxy. Photo Mamelodi Sundowns

“My opinion is, when you concede four goals against Sundowns, it’s like fantasy to come back to score three goals to come back to make it 4-4 and we need to be honest, Mamelodi Sundowns is the best team, maybe not in South Africa but whole of Africa,” Beganovic stated.

“And then I know that I respect that. The club invests so much in players, their facilities, and everything that Sundowns have at the moment; and then play always, semi-finals, finals of competitions, going to the FIFA Club World Cup.

“It talks about a club on a high level and then if you have 11 players on the field, it’s like we need to put more energy as an opponent to get something, you need to be on your top, win every duel, fight 100%, even if you [lose momentum] you lose the game easily.”

‘Masandawana can kill game in seconds'

“Sundowns have quality players who can finish a game in seconds, we know that we agree with that, we just have to focus on ourselves, put all focus on our team, and then we wish to press, we wish to have the ball but sometimes your opponent doesn’t allow that,” Beganovic continued.

“They have all possession, create opportunities and it becomes easier [with one man down], that’s it, I’m honest – we didn’t have any chance against Sundowns, the red card destroyed us and then we couldn’t find any solution to attack or score goals.

“In the end I want to say it’s been a beautiful time, we can’t complain about anything, we reached what we wanted [when appointed], now we need to finish the season how we want, to be in the top eight spot, that’s what we want.”

‘Best in Africa Sundowns’ lauded – ‘When you concede, coming back is a fantasy’

Willis Sob

Willis Sob is an experienced journalist who has been in the game since 2009, covering major assignments around the continent.
His hunger for African football is unmatched, always getting the best angles and facts to feed the fans and quench their thirst.