Mamelodi Sundowns striker Peter Shalulile has identified the most talkative teammate ahead of their opening match at the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Tshwane giants will face South Korean side Ulsan in their first Group F match of the expanded 32-team tournament. The game is scheduled for the Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday midnight.
The Namibian forward expressed that participating in this prestigious tournament is a “wonderful feeling,” especially the prospect of competing against “the best players and the best teams.”.
“It’s a massive, massive, massive, massive feeling, because you do not want to disappoint at that level. [Many] thousands of people are going to be there. I know that you’re going to have butterflies, but they will eventually go away, but [we’re] expecting an amazing, full pitch from day one until the last day,” Shalulile told FIFA Media.
Masandawana will take on German giants Borussia Dortmund and Brazil’s Fluminense FC. Shalulile emphasised the need to approach Dortmund “with caution,” as they have been competing at the highest level for a long time. The Brave Warriors’ captain reflected on lessons learned from the Brazilians during their encounter with Manchester City in the previous edition of the competition.
“Too much running, because they are ball possession players. They pass; they build up. They also gave
Manchester City a [good] run when they played them, so it’s one of those games where you need to be fit to play them, and also take your chances when you get them.”
WHO IS THE FUNNIEST TEAMMATE IN MAMELODI SUNDOWNS’ DRESSING ROOM
In a lighter moment, the talented forward singled out Denis Onyango as the funniest player in the Downs dressing room.
“There are jokes. There are quite a lot. There’s Denis Onyango, a goalkeeper from Uganda. There’s
[Themba] Zwane, the best of the best. But I’ll give it to Denis, for the fact that he never stops talking. He is always talking, even on days when we lose, he is just talking [non-stop]. He is my roommate now, but he just talks on the phone; he’s on the phone [all the time]. In the meetings, he’s always cracking jokes. So I’ll give it to Denis.”
The former Uganda Cranes captain is one of the most experienced players in the Downs squad. He was part of the 2016 team that won the CAF Champions League. This will be his second appearance at the FIFA Club World Cup.
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