Sundowns face Spanish champions
“We expect Barca to win, not to say that we aren’t confident but we have to be realistic.”
Local soccer champions will face Spanish champions in the Nelson Mandela Centenary celebration game at FNB Stadium tomorrow at 18:00.
The eight-time Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns will face their La Liga peers Barcelona for the second time. They lost their first encounter 2-1 in Pretoria in 2007.
Masandawana’s had to cut their trophy parade in the streets of Pretoria on Monday short to start preparing for the match.
Barca’s superstars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are expected to land tomorrow ahead of the keenly-awaited contest.
Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane said he was excited to come up against one of the best teams in the world.
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Local and international dignitaries including Fifa president Gianni Infantino were also expected to attend.
“The Barca game is for the guys to get experience, to see how far we are, what’s the difference between us and Barca and what’s the difference between the PSL and La Liga,” Mosimane said.
“But for me personally it is about seeing how far our tactics are in comparison to Barca.
Off course we aren’t going to stop Barca from playing. They score a goal every 13-14 minutes.
I am talking about against Real Madrid, not Sundowns.
So then you can’t have stress.
You are happy to play… you say let’s see how long we can last before the first goal comes.
It’s not about beating Barca or trying to match ourselves against Barca.
It’s just to see our organisation, the way we defend and attack.
We want to see how far we are in that regard because we have our own specimen.
We’ve got our own software.
We play our own way.
The Barca match is an opportunity to see the difference between the Rand and the Euro.
It’s just an opportunity to have fun and see that if we play the Sundowns way, can Barca stop Sundowns.
I think we all know who will win.
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We expect Barca to win, not to say that we aren’t confident but the reality has to be there.
If we win, it’s unbelievable.
You never know, maybe we can rise to the occasion and give them a scare.
But I must be honest with you, I am so excited about the game.”
Tickets to the game have sold-out.
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