Mamelodi Sundowns Coach Miguel Cardoso says one of his team’s main goals this season is to reach the final of the CAF Champions League. Sundowns will be making their 9th appearance in the quarter finals of Africa’s premier club competition. They come up against four-time champions Esperance of Tunisia at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Tuesday. Sundowns are targeting their second Champions League title since 2016. They were knocked out in the semifinals for the past two seasons. Mamelodi Sundowns are SA’s most successful club in the CAF Champions League. The Brazilians have already made 16 appearances in the competition since 1994. They were eventually crowned continental champions in 2016, after reaching their first final back in 2001. Ever since their first title nine years ago, the side’s best achievement was reaching the semifinals on three occasions. Sundowns will be coming up against Esperance of Tunisia, a side that beat them in the semifinals last season. And Cardoso was the guy who spearheaded the downfall of the Pretoria-based club last season. “Obviously, first of all, it’s a pleasure to participate in this round of the CAF Champions League. Obviously, we know of the importance and the level of games we have ahead. 0any team that we could obviously play will be tough to play against but the ambition is on the limit, the will to make things in the best way is obviously very high and we’ve been obviously waiting for this moment where decisions are done at the beginning of the season so it’s a precise detail moment where we have to concentrate on the details in a match like this,” says Cardoso. But Cardoso is well aware that it will not be easy against a team that has won the Champions League in 1994, 2011, 2018, and again in 2019. “It’s a precise, detailed moment where we have to concentrate in detail in a match like this. I don’t expect nothing less than two equal matches played on details like the ones played last year,” says Cardoso. Esperance lost to defending champions and 12-time Champions League winners Al Ahly of Egypt in the final last season. Sundowns midfielder Aubrey Modiba says they need to use home ground advantage this time around after losing 1-0 to Esperance in the second leg last season, after playing to a goalless draw in Tunis. “Obviously, it’s Champions League game, quarterfinals. We are expecting a very tough game. We are playing at home, so we are going to prepare accordingly for that game because we want to do well especially at home first like so yeah, we know the team very well. We managed to analyse, the coach will prepare a team that will be able to put a good fight tomorrow,” Modiba knows they need to dig deep to be able to reach the final this season. “We do talk about that every season, we always fall short in the semi’s or in the quarterfinals, but we know these games are not easy. We fight every season the bring that second star and you know how champions league is a very difficult competition. But right now we’ve got a very good squad, good team that is ready to fight and the technical team that is helping us,” The match against Esperance kicks-off at three o’clock in the afternoon, with the second leg scheduled for Tunis next Tuesday. Orlando Pirates are also playing their quarterfinal first-leg fixture on Tuesday when they travel to Algeria where they’ll take on MC Alger at 9pm.