Mokwena welcomes ‘competitive draw’ that pits Sundowns against former coach Pitso Mosimane

Rulani Mokwena has reacted to Mamelodi Sundowns being drawn against former coach, Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly in the Caf Champions League quarter-finals.

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Sundowns and Al Ahly will play in what has been described as a ‘dream match’ and a ‘final before the final’ in early May.

Mokwena said they knew that they’d have to meet Ahly at some point.

“We knew the permutations from the beginning that we could either have a trip to Algeria or a trip to Egypt… We had three permutations and of the three, (we know that) all of the teams in the last eight are very good teams with very good coaches,” said Mokwena on Friday.

He suggested that Sundowns will be underdogs going into the match with a lot of expectation falling on the shoulders of the Egyptian giants.

“Al Ahly are the defending champions and they have the pressure to retain the trophy. We consider it a very competitive draw, against a very good team with a very good coach. He is someone we have a lot of respect for, I personally have a lot of respect because of the role he played in my coaching career as a coach, as a leader and as a mentor.

“He is someone I have learnt a lot from. We are looking forward to the challenge.”