CAF Champions League: Sundowns with one hand on trophy

On Sunday in Alexandria, a historic first CAF Champions League title will be Mamelodi Sundowns' to lose on when they come face to face with Egyptian giants Zamalek in the final leg of this year's final.

The South African champions were in devastating form in the first leg last Saturday in Pretoria, romping to a clean 3-0 victory at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville. Goals from Anthony Laffor, Tebogo Langerman and an own goal from Islam Gamal made sure the South Africans reduced their work load significantly ahead of the deciding second leg.

Hosts Zamalek, who are five-time champions of the competition, will be hoping to draw inspiration from what is expected to be a huge home crowd in their bid to brave the odds with a miraculous comeback. The Egyptian FA earlier this week cleared about 40,000 fans to attend the game at the 86,000 capacity Borg El Arab Stadium, a number which will be the largest crowd at a football game in Egypt since the infamous Port Said tragedy four years ago.

Coach Mo'men Soliman's White Knights will be hoping to avoid a fourth straight defeat against Pitso Mosimane's Brazilians this season: Sundowns beat Zamalek back to back in the Group stages prior to their victory in the first leg of the final last week.

Sundowns' are shoo-in to become only the second ever South African club to win the Champions League, following the achievement of Orlando Pirates in 1995.

For Zamalek, it will be an incredibly tall order: the last and only time a club was able to overturn a 3-0 deficit in the final occurred almost 40 years ago. In the 1976 final, Algeria's MC Alger clawed back to beat Hafia of Guinea 3-0 after a first leg loss by the same scoreline, forcing a penalty shootout in which they won 4-1 to win the trophy.

The Egyptians though, cannot be underestimated despite the daunting odds that face them. They proved their capability of being supremely dominant at home in the semi final when they white-washed Wydad Casablanca 4-0 in the first leg. Having lost only one Champions League final in their history (1994), they will be hoping to repeat the feat of their country rivals Al Ahly, who beat Sundowns 3-0 at home in the second leg of the 2001 CAF Champions League final. Eight-time champions Ahly had drawn the first leg 1-1 in Pretoria, making it a 4-1 aggregate score in a final which happened to be Sundowns' debut in a Champions League final.

Now, 15 years later, Sundowns are back in the final and their fortunes are completely different. But despite the comfort of a glaring head-start, their outspoken coach Pitso 'Jingles' Mosimane, who stands on the brink of becoming the first South African coach to win African club football's ultimate diadem, is all caution ahead of the decider.

'No doubt there will be pressure and hostility from the fans but we are ready for anything. I hear a lot of people saying it's already in the bag for Sundowns but this is football and we must never forget that they have scored four at home in this very competition. It would be very foolish to consider ourselves champions without kicking a ball. We got the advantage that we needed at home but the last hurdle is on Sunday,' he said.

'With the backing of the crowd, we know that they will be coming at us from the onset but this will give us the perfect opportunity to catch them with our speed on the break,» he added.

Zamalek have not been in a Champions League final since 2002, when they beat Moroccans Raja Casablanca 1-0 on aggregate to wrap up a fifth title, adding to previous wins in 1984, 1986, 1993 and 1996.