Magesi FC coach Clinton Larsen (right) seen here during training in Polokwane yesterday, says his team will need ‘a little bit of luck’ to beat Mamelodi Sundowns. Photo: BackpagePix
CLINTON Larsen likened himself to ‘Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible’ as he prepares to lead Magesi FC for Saturday’s Carling Knockout Cup final against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Given that Cruse – who plays agent Ethan Hunt in the series – always ends up victorious on missions that initially seem impossible, Larsen was clearly sending a message as he spoke to the media at the club’s training ground in Polokwane yesterday.
Magesi can beat Sundowns at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday (6pm kick-off).
And he’s got good reason to believe that the rookies can reign victorious.
After all, Larsen has previously led an underdog to a win over the Brazilians in the self same competition, albeit under a different sponsorship.
“In 2012, no one gave (Bloemfontein) Celtic a chance, and we won it,” Larsen recalled yesterday.
“As long as we go and fight tooth and nail out there – and the players are prepared to do that – we will always have a chance.
“Even though it is mission impossible and I am Tom Cruise, you are going into this game thinking Sundowns beat Arrows 5-0, they beat Kaizer Chiefs 4-0 and they beat Marumo (Gallants) 2-0.
“You might think that Magesi stand no chance when you look at that, but the positives from that is that every one of those teams created a chance against Sundowns.
“When you play them, the only difference is whether you take the chances or not, because you will get the chances.
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“So, on the day, it is going to be important for us to have a little bit of luck, and defensively, we’ve got to be very resolute.
“And when we get the few chances that we will create, we need to bury them – and that’s what is going to give us a chance to win this game.”
That he acknowledges their underdog status is because of the quality Sundowns possesses – a quality that he says was evidenced in Cape Town on Tuesday when Bafana Bafana beat South Sudan 3-0.
“We are playing against a formidable team. Actually, it feels like we are going to be playing the national team, because the other night, I saw six starters from Sundowns against (South Sudan), and there were some on the bench,” Larsen noted.
“And if you look at (Marcelo) Allende, (Lucas) Ribeiro and (Peter) Shalulile, if they were South African, they would be in the national team.
“So, you are not just playing Sundowns: it’s like the national team. And that’s what makes this challenge all the more exciting for us as a club.”
Larsen knows that they are unlikely to see much of the ball, but that has been the story en route to the final, and it is they who will walk out on to the Free State Stadium and not the teams that dominated them.
“It does not matter at all. In 2012, we had less possession, less shots at goal and all the stats were in Sundowns’ favour, but Celtic won 1-0,” he said.
“Like in the other games we played (in this campaign), our opponents were the better team.
“In my opinion, (Orlando) Pirates were the better team; TS Galaxy were the better team; and Richards Bay were the better team.
“But at the end of the day, we got the job done – and we will go into the game with the same positivity that we did in all those matches.”
Whether that positivity will be enough to see Larsen beat Sundowns in a league cup final yet again is a question that will be answered on Saturday.
The followers of the Mission Impossible franchise will tell you that Tom Cruise always reigns victorious.
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