The sun went down on a historic victory for South African football club Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday.
The Sundowns succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Egyptian side Zamalek in Alexandria on Sunday. But the fact that the South African team had won the first leg 3-0 meant that the team triumphed 3-1 on aggregate and clinched the CAF Champions League title for 2016, the continent's premier club football tournament.
Sundowns players fell to their knees at the final whistle after resisting a Zamalek onslaught and holding on to the advantage they secured during the first leg, which was played in Atteridgeville, a town on the outskirts of the South African capital Pretoria, earlier in October.
The triumph is the first time that the Sundowns—nicknamed the Brazilians for their yellow and green kit—has won the Champions League. The club came close once before when they reached the final in 2001, only to be defeated 1-4 on aggregate by another Egyptian club, Al Ahly.
But the team has an illustrious history in South African football, winning the domestic premier league a record seven times since its inception in 1996.
The club has also had the honor of being coached by two European players widely regarded as among the best of their generation. Bulgaria's Hristo Stoichkov, winner of the 1994 Ballon d'Or—a title given to the world's best footballer—managed the team for just under a year between June 2009 and March 2010. Former Dutch midfielder Johan Neeskens, twice a runner-up with his country in the World Cup, also took charge of the club between 2011 and 2012.
The Sundowns is currently owned by Patrice Motsepe, a mining magnate and one of South Africa's richest men. Motsepe said that the $1.5 million prize money would be shared out among the team following the club's victory and that he would only keep the trophy, South African news site IOL reported.
The Sundowns's triumph in the Champions League could have been very different. The team was actually eliminated from the competition by Congolese side AS Vita Club, but was reinstated after African football's governing body found that the latter side had fielded an ineligible player.
The Sundowns is only the second South African club to win the Champions League. Johannesburg side Orlando Pirates were the first to achieve that feat in 1995 after beating Ivorian team AESC Mimosas 3-2 on aggregate.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Conor is a staff writer for Newsweek covering Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, security and conflict.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
