'Downs have to go through Pitso to win Champions League,' says Baloyi before big clash

South Africans have suddenly awoken from their slumber and realised there's a whole continent out there to explore in football terms.

The results have been spectacular in parts, bar Bafana Bafana, with Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane becoming the north star South Africans have followed towards greater heights on the continent.

Desiree Ellis's Banyana Banyana also qualified for the 2022 African Women Cup of Nations (Awcon) tournament after beating Algeria 3-1 on aggregate.

CAF president Patrice Motsepe, Mosimane's old boss, is another that's paved the way in the administration field, while Mamelodi Sundowns and their Ladies team added a star each on the badge each in recent years.

WATCH | Goosebumps! Adoring Al Ahly fans chant 'Pitso, Pitso, Pitso'

Former Orlando Pirates coach Roger De Sa also joined Carlos Queiroz's Egypt men's national side that made the African Cup of Nations final, losing on penalties to Senegal in Cameroon.

But Pitso is still the main man - the one who showed everyone it's possible. He's won an Egyptian league treble, two CAF Champions Leagues with Al Ahly and the CAF Super Cup twice.

He also led the Red Devils to third place at the recent FIFA Club World Cup despite crazy odds for the second time.

As Mosimane prepares to face his former club in this year's Champions League group stages on Saturday (21:00), former Sundowns goalkeeper Brian Baloyi says he's the man to beat if the "Yellow Nation" wants to taste continental glory again.

"There are a few things that we're doing right, but there's a whole lot we're still doing wrong," says Baloyi.

"If you listened to Pitso a few months after he moved to Al Ahly, he didn't know how massive a club it was.

"Yes, he knew they were big but, until he got there, he