Remo Stars Coach Tips Sundowns to Reach CAF Champions League Semis

Remo Stars head coach Tiago Conde has backed Mamelodi Sundowns to reach the CAF Champions League semi-finals, calling them strong favourites to potentially win the tournament.

Sundowns secured a dominant 7-1 aggregate victory over Remo Stars, winning the final match 2-0 at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday to advance to the group stage. Following the defeat, the 40-year-old Portuguese coach spoke highly of his opponent's chances in the competition.

“I’m expecting that Mamelodi will be among three or four teams, [and] will be the team with capacity to win this competition, for sure,” Conde stated.

He highlighted the team’s impressive roster as a key advantage, pointing out that few teams can rival their quality and depth. “I cannot see more teams with this capacity they have. They have a mix of players, South African players, Brazilian players, Portuguese players, [and] he’s a Portuguese coach as well, so I’m sure,” he said.

Conde went even further, expressing his belief in their potential to lift the trophy.

I don’t know if they get champion in the national competition, but in the CAF competition, I’m expecting they can be champion. I cannot bet, but if on the quarterfinals, I’m sure Mamelodi will be one of the teams on the semifinals…

The coach also noted that Sundowns' superior preparedness stemmed from the high level of competition they face domestically. “Of course, the competition, the local competition in South Africa, seems more competitive in the level higher than the competition we have in Nigeria. Because of that, we can see Mamelodi more prepared [for these] kind of games than us.”

Sundowns will learn their group-stage opponents on November 3 during the draw in Johannesburg.