Teko Modise: The Sundowns players are still human beings

Mamelodi Sundowns players celebrate a goal in the Nedbank Cup against Gomora United. Image: Mamelodi Sundowns

Former Mamelodi Sundowns skipper Teko Modise believes the do-or-die clash against MC Alger in the CAF Champions League will be about the endless high expectations and pressure at a club of this stature.

Modise, who lifted the title in 2016, says the players will face the reality of a culture that not only expects but demands consistent success.

Saturday’s visiting coach will be Rulani Mokwena, a man who knows Sundowns more than any other coach in the competition.

In what will be the final game of the group stage, only a win or a draw could be sufficient for Sundowns to make the quarterfinals. In the reverse fixture in Algiers, the two sides delivered a pulsating goalless draw.

TEKO MODISE: NOT EVERYONE CAN HANDLE PRESSURE

According to Modise, the game will be a psychological test, where the players’ response will decide the game.

Modise also raised awareness on the players’ human side in the face of increasing weekly demands on them as different individuals.

“At the end of the day, these players are still human beings,” Modise said on The Pitchside podcast. “Unfortunately, you’re playing for a team that has big, big ambitions. And if you think you’ve done enough, we want more and more.

Mamelodi Sundowns players Khuliso Mudau, Themba Zwane, Iqraam Rayners, and Ronwen Williams before facing Saint-Eloi Lupopo at the Stade du TP Mazembe Stadium in Lubumbashi, DR Congo. Image: Mamelodi Sundowns

“So now, pressure, not everybody is still able to perform under pressure. Not everybody is capable of handling pressure and still have the will to actually go on and play.

“Do you think with all the pressure that we’ve been facing for such a long period of time? And that affects how we play, it affects how we feel as human beings going into the pitch.

“Yes, you might say some might use that anger towards, you know, to help them, maybe tap into, use it as fuel, turn it into positivity.  So now… maybe that has been, maybe our biggest Achilles ‘ heel as Mamelodi Sundowns?

“How then are we absorbing the pressure that comes with playing for Sundowns, playing for a team that is so ambitious? Are we embracing the pressure? Or maybe pressure shows us cracks.

“Maybe we need to show more leniency because we are human beings at the end of the day. Not everybody can sustain the pressure,” Modise concluded.