Mamelodi Sundowns chairman Thlopie Motsepe believes his side went through a period of self-discovery following their 2-1 aggregate win over AS FAR in the CAF Champions League final last week.
After missing out on winning their ninth consecutive league title, Downs were tasked to secure their second Champions League star in the continental showpiece final.
After reaching the promised land for the first time since 2016, Motsepe expressed that players made a pact to stick together while adding ‘grit’ to their infamous ‘Shoe Shine and Piano’ possession-based game.
“As CAF Champions League champions, we are very proud, and we want to be able to make sure that now we shift that honour and we uphold that title for as long as we can,” Motsepe said, as per Soccer Laduma.
“It was a season that the team learnt a lot about themselves. Let’s go back to the beginning of where this CAF journey started for us. It didn’t start when the season started for all the other players. It started when we lost in Cairo (last season to Pyramids).
“That was when we had to realise and make a decision as a group to say ‘We are going to learn from these mistakes and see how we can propel ourselves forward’. It brought us together, and throughout the season, there were challenges, but the group, senior players and new players really have resolve and a special energy that comes across.
“They have a brotherhood amongst themselves that can never be broken. What we’ve adopted this season is Shoe Shine and Piano with a little bit of steel.”
