Ulsan HD midfielder Darijan Bojanic is anticipating a massive challenge from Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns when the two teams start their Club World Cup campaign in the next couple of days.
The South Korea outfit will face the South Africa heavyweights on Tuesday, June 17, in Group F fixture. Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense are the other teams in the pool.
Bojanic believes getting past the other teams in the group won't be easy; he has, however, tipped the Bundesliga outfit to deliver. The 30-year-old has further stated Masandawana are wounded after falling against Pyramids in the Caf Champions League final.
‘Sundowns should be ready for revenge'
“We can surprise people, to be honest, we haven’t spoken about what team we need to win or what team we can afford to lose or something like this,” he said in his pre-match interview.
“It’s more like we take things game by game, it doesn’t matter who we will face, we will try to do our best and see if it’s enough. We won’t try to change, we will stick to our [identity], try to dominate, and if we lose, we can say the opponent is better you know.
“I think Dortmund is the best team in the group, it will be good to see they are, how good the players are and everything. So I think that game will be the toughest one for us. I don’t know a lot about football in South Africa, but if [Sundowns] are in the World Cup, it is a very good team. And if they lost a final, they should be ready for revenge to win something else and show a good performance at the tournament.”
‘There are some serious footballers here!'
Bojanic has further warned teams against underrating the South Korean side, insisting they will be in for a rude shock.
“For Ulsan as a club and the players, it’s a big thing for everyone, we all very excited to play it and I think it will be a great opportunity to show Korean football, I don’t think many European teams or other teams in the world watch Korean football,” he continued.
“I know I didn’t before I came, but yeah, there’s some seriously good footballers here and I hope we can show that to the world.
“This tournament will be for sure the biggest one I will play in my life, I guess. So, I’m just not trying to think about it too much; I will just focus on the games, nothing else,” Bojanic concluded.
