Aubrey Modiba And Mamelodi Sundowns Ready To Realise Dreams At The World Cup

Aubrey Modiba is a proud kid from Polokwane who prides himself in speaking Sepedi especially having studied at Makgefola Primary.

And such have been the prowess of the Nedbank Cup team search, Modiba was able to do well and impress at the event.

Modiba Is Living The Dream

He was recruited by SuperSport United and did so well so much so that he became a Bafana Bafana regular before Mamelodi Sundowns came calling.

Modiba heeded the call of SuperSpersport arch-rivals, Sundowns, becoming an integral part of the team that has gone on to win eight Premiership titles in a row.

When Modiba arrived at Sundowns, five years ago, the team wanted to return to the pinnacle of African football - winning the CAF Champions League in 2016.

Things haven’t gone that way, though, with Sundowns missing out on the crown at the last hurdle last season as they lost to Pyramids.

But that didn’t stop Modiba and Co from being part and parcel of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup in the US as they qualified two seasons ago, and that’s why he’s living a dream.

“I love the accent. I enjoy how they speak. I wanted to hear the proper American accent,” Modiba told the Sundowns media department this week.

“Here and there, we hear and call, sometimes we don’t because we speak differently. It’s nice to experience that culture coming here - so far so good. I am enjoying my stay here!”

Sundowns landed in Florida a fortnight ago, and such has been their stay that Modiba is in awe of the hospitality that they received.

“It has been great overall - the food, the hotel and everyone has been welcoming,” Modiba explained.

“The food is proper. It has been great. We have been enjoying every moment. It has been a week. And we’ve been preparing well.

“We have been doing gym work, and making sure that the team is prepared for the game. There are no major injuries - it has been great.

“We are looking forward to more weeks here, so I am hoping that we stay longer [and reach the knockout stage].”

Sundowns Are In A Tough Group F

The Brazilians need to dig in to ensure that they stay at the World Cup as they are in Group F alongside Ulsan HD, Borussia Dortmund, and Fluminense.

Coach Miguel Cardoso’s men will play their first game against Ulsan on Wednesday morning (12am) at Inter & Co Stadium, Florida.

And given the preparations that the team has had since their arrival and analysis of Ulsan, Modiba has weighed up their options of doing better in the game.

“They are a very good side - we are similar to how we play. They have very good players,” Modiba explained.

“They’ve got five stars on their shirts due to how they play in their league. So, it’s a good team. They are not here by mistake, it shows that it’ll be a tough game.

“We are looking forward to the game, we are going to apply ourselves and make sure that we do well. We are representing Africa as a whole.”

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