Modise questioned whether Sundowns could still be regarded as a “top team” on the continent.
Mamelodi Sundowns legends Hlompho Kekana, Teko Modise and Sibusiso Vilakazi have delivered one of the most candid assessments yet of the club’s CAF Champions League performances on the latest episode of the Pitchside Podcast.
The frank discussion followed Sundowns’ disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Al-Hilal last Friday, with the trio leaving no stone unturned as they dissected the Brazilians’ recent displays in Africa’s premier club competition.
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Modise and Kekana were key members of the 2016 side that lifted Sundowns’ maiden CAF Champions League title, with Kekana captaining the team, while Vilakazi had just arrived from Bidvest Wits at the time.
Modise questioned whether Sundowns could still be regarded as a “top team” on the continent, given their inconsistency in recent campaigns.
“Maybe it’s an unfair question but are we still regarding ourselves as a top team based on the past and recent?” he asked.
“The reason I’m asking this is that if we are part of the top teams, what are the top teams doing that we’re not doing. Against top teams when you play in the champions league, they will make you suffer in their own ground.
“That’s why when we go to top teams, we suffer so we are still in the conversation of calling ourselves that. At times, delusion is a problem because we stay so much in the bubble of the past and forget that the future is waiting for us to rewrite.”
Kekana echoed his former teammate’s views and raised concerns about the team’s identity under head coach Miguel Cardoso.
“There’s no football without reference, we need to look at the reference and the players that we have and (ask) do we play our way?” Kekana added.
“Do we have the profile of the players in the team that allows us to play the way we want? If we don’t have one, then let’s not be shocked when certain things don’t come out.
“We are a team that plays in short spaces but if we have a problem of coming out of smaller spaces because someone is not comfortable in that space, it means that’s not our profile. If at that particular moment we don’t have that player to come on, then we need to revisit our structure and formation.”
Modise again returned to his belief that the club is living off past success, noting that the team is digressing, with the last champions league title coming a decade ago.
“That’s why it comes back to that thing where I strongly believe that we’re still living in this bubble that we were once great,” he added.
“If we can’t reach the levels that we were, then we need to surpass them and if we can’t surpass them, the worst thing that can happen is to go back to where we were because you can still keep the consistency.
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“Why are we digressing? We’re digressing all the time and then we’re trying to find excuses for why we are here. Let’s not start creating excuses, we know why we’re here and that’s why I’m saying that maybe the realisation as football people, we need to make you understand that you’re not who you think you are.”
