Zamalek (0)1
Ohawuchi 65
Mamelodi Sundowns 0
Sundowns won 3-1 on aggregate
Borg El-Arab Stadium, Alexandria - Sundowns walked into the lion’s den, marked their territory and left as the new kings of Africa by winning the jungle-like CAF Champions League.
This wasn’t a football test. Sundowns’ passed that test already with flying colours by topping a group that had teams with nine titles combined in the premier club competition in the continent.
Beating the most successful of those clubs, five-time African champions Zamalek, three times in a row further proved that point. The last of those wins was a 3-0 demolition in the first leg of this final.
Take a bow Pitso John Hamilton Mosimane... https://t.co/tnf6rG2eH0
— Extra Strong (@extrastrongsa) October 23, 2016
This was a test of Sundowns’ mental strength. It started before they even arrived here when some online trolls sent their players death threats. It continued when they arrived here on Thursday and found that Zamalek hadn’t allocated them a training pitch. It went further when Zamalek threatened to go back on their word of supplying Sundowns with tickets for their travelling fans. All of that was before they even entered this coliseum.
When Sundowns eventually entered for the pitch inspection, it got worse. Cellphones, a tool that Egyptians used to overthrow Honsi Mubarak during the Arab Spring, were used as a weapon against the Brazilians on Sunday night. Zamalek fans lit up the stadium with their phones at the sight of Sundowns’ players.
2016 CAF Champions League winners. Congratulations @Masandawana🌟 pic.twitter.com/0vlbe9PZjt
— Mazola J. Molefe (@superjourno) October 23, 2016
Those were the friendly supporters. The others used lasers, set off fireworks that sounded like explosives and even threw missiles at them. Flares were also lit minutes into the match, in a part of the field that had a banner with 4-0.
Sundowns stood tall like they have been this week. When they didn’t get a venue, they found one for themselves on Friday even though it wasn’t pretty. Instead of allowing their fans to worry about travelling to Egypt and not watch their team, Sundowns’ president Patrice Motsepe took them out for lunch at the plush Four Seasons Hotel by the sea.
When the players saw this reception, they took pictures having laughed off the death threats.
Keagan Dolly, still in his suit and formal shoes, stopped one of the bottles that was thrown onto the pitch with his chest and kicked it out.
Khama Billiat moved swiftly to duck one missile. “Kill them”, an Egyptian reporter shouted from the stands, laughing when the missiles were thrown.
Sundowns’ refused to die. They passed that mental test, leaving the small matter of wrapping up the game and becoming African champions for the first time in their history.
The Champions of Africa @Masandawana #CAFCL #CAFCLFINAL pic.twitter.com/ZfvyRPzvQH
— CAF (@CAF_Online) October 23, 2016
They handled that part too, playing with intelligence and cockiness.
Pitso Mosimane’s plan was for the club to weather the storm in the first 15 minutes and frustrate the fans. It went further than those minutes.
Denis Onyango played a big part at first, killing Zamalek’s momentum by slowing down the game and going down at the slightest of touches. Stanley Ohawuchi came close to scoring but did the cardinal sin of coming into contact with Onyango. Uganda’s No. 1 stole a few minutes because of that contact.
Zamalek didn’t take his antics well.
The White Knight’s technical team stormed Sundowns’ bench in frustration. Sundowns stood defiant. But that time around Onyango wasn’t faking it, he was genuinely injured. Wayne Sandilands came on for Onyango just before the half-hour mark.
He quickly dusted off any cobwebs that might have crept in as the third choice keeper.
Africa has a new breed of champions! #Sundowns pic.twitter.com/OJYEsmWjzH
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 23, 2016
He pulled out a brilliant save to ensure that the first half ends goalless. The fans, whose whistles sounded like a swarm of bees, stinging to the ear, went dead silent at halftime.
That silence didn’t last long, with deafening cheers after Ohawuchi squeezed the ball between Sandilands at the post. That fire up Zamalek with more flares being light on the stands and one was thrown behind the Egyptian’s goalposts in frustration.
Sundowns weren’t moved and did the business.
@extrastrongsa
Independent Media