They have quality players and money - CR Belouizdad coach on Sundowns.

Mamelodi Sundowns beat CR Belouizdad at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday afternoon to reach the semi-finals of the Caf Champions League, and CRB coach, Nabil Kouki, can't stop singing their praises.

Money is almost always part of the conversation where Sundowns are concerned, but Kouki believes it is not only money that is pushing Sundowns ahead of the rest, but their ability to identify and sign quality players.

"Mamelodi Sundowns, in my opinion, is the best team in Africa right now. It's a challenge to play this team, their football has everything," Kouki told the media after the game.

"Football always has new things, but nowadays if you talk about football, it's money.

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"All the coaches around the world can see Sundowns is ahead of the others. They have quality players and money, yes other teams have money as well to buy players, but the Sundowns technical team has the technique to find and buy quality players. You can see them on the field, how they finish, in my opinion, Sundowns is far ahead of the other teams."

Sundowns will face Moroccan giants, Wydad Casablanca in the semi-finals.

The first leg will be played away in Morocco on the weekend of the 12th-13th of May, with the second leg scheduled for 19-20 May. 

Sundowns won't sacrifice their soul for the CAFCL, according to Mokwena.

Rulani Mokwena has reiterated that Mamelodi Sundowns will not sacrifice their game model for Caf Champions League, according to SABC Sport.

Sundowns have stuck to their brand of football throughout the tournament, and they are just a game away from reaching the semi-finals.

Maybe that justifies Mokwena's thinking, why fix what is not broken?

"They're saying to (Roberto) De Zerbi at Brighton, the English Premier League, you can't play this way. They said when (Guardiola) Pep arrived in the EPL, they said you can't win in the English Premier League this way. His biggest challenge will be going to Stoke on a Saturday and the first time he went to Stoke, you know the story," said Mokwena as quoted by SABC Sport. https://www.sabcsport.com/soccer/news/rulani-mokwena-mamelodi-sundowns-won-t-sacrifice-game-model-for-caf-title

When a tactical/technical need arises within the game, the Brazilians have managed to find solutions by using other alternatives without deviating much from their way of playing.

"Football is about not playing what you feel, what you want, it's a way of playing and I've spoken about the game model for so many years. A game model of the team encompasses many things. The players you have, the history that the club has, shoes shine and piano. The team is built over many transfer periods."

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Sundowns host CR Belouizdad on Saturday 29 April at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, at 16:00, to finish what they started in Algeria, where they emerged as 4-1 winners in the first leg quarter-final.