Fadlu Davids: Every Raja player wanted move to Sundowns

Former Orlando Pirates coach Fadlu Davids says players at Raja Casablanca regularly asked him to help them secure moves to Mamelodi Sundowns, describing the South African champions as the continent’s most sought-after destination.

Davids, who has worked in Morocco, said Sundowns’ sustained success in the CAF Champions League has made them a club that players admire and opponents fear.

“Any player at Raja would always come to me and say, ‘Please get me into Sundowns,'” Davids said.

“Everybody wants to play for Sundowns. Everybody fears Sundowns.”

The South African champions have established themselves as one of Africa’s dominant clubs, regularly reaching the latter stages of the Champions League, with Davids pointing to that consistency as the key reason for their appeal.

“That is just the visibility in the CAF Champions League, always being in semi-finals and finals,” he said.

“And really, yes, only two Champions League titles, but it’s not easy to win the Champions League. They have always been there and thereabouts.”

Davids also credited CAF president Patrice Motsepe for transforming not only Sundowns but South African football more broadly through ambitious leadership.

“Only through visionary leadership like Dr Patrice Motsepe, what he’s done not only to Sundowns, but in South African football, because as he raised the bar, the other clubs had to raise the bar as well,” Davids said.

“It lifted the entire league here. So a huge, huge credit for our president of CAF at the moment.”

Sundowns have become one of Africa’s most consistent performers in recent years, with their regular appearances in the Champions League’s knockout stages reinforcing their reputation as one of the continent’s leading clubs.