Dräger: Sundowns are one of the monsters of African football

Dräger was speaking to SABC Sport just before their first training session at the Tuks football grounds, ahead of tomorrow’s crunch CAF Champions League 2nd leg semifinal at a sold-out Loftus Stadium. Sundowns lead the tie 1-0 after a Brayan León goal gave them an advantage in Rades last weekend. Dräger says they are facing a great team in coach Miguel Cardoso’s side.

"I respect them in every position, on every corner. It's a big team, especially at home, like a big force. Very dynamic team, very tactically and technically prepared team by the coach and the whole staff. So yeah, I mean, it's a semifinal of the Champions League," said Dräger

READ: Brayan Leon gives Mamelodi Sundowns upper hand in CAF Champions League semi-final first leg

"Everyone who's facing each other now is facing basically one of the monsters in Africa. So we face a monster of Africa, not the monster."

Dräger, an experienced Tunisian international right-back with over 39 international caps, born in Freiburg, Germany, also touched on their challenging trip, which saw them only land in South Africa late yesterday. The 29-year-old doesn’t believe that their late arrival will have any bearing on their game tomorrow.

The four-time African champions were dominant in the first leg and missed some crucial chances in the first half, but Sundowns' experience showed throughout as they pounced in the second half. Dräger acknowledges that they come to this game on the back foot.

Dräger is playing in his first season of the CAF Champions League, having only joined Esperance from Bundesliga 2 in January this year. He has played in Germany, Switzerland and Greece and now enjoys playing club football in Africa, having also been part of the Tunisian national team squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.