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Cape Town - Wayne Arendse will use the FIFA Club World Cup to make up for missing out on the second leg of the CAF Champions League in Alexandria against Zamalek through suspension.
Arendse was on the stands when his team-mates played the biggest game of their lives, in front of a daunting crowd at Borg El-Arab Stadium. Despite losing 1-0, Sundowns won the tie 3-1 on aggregate to become the new Kings of Africa.
"It was heartbreaking that I couldn't be in the second leg of the final," Arendse told Vodacom Soccer. "But at the end of the day I knew that we had a good cushion from our 3-0 lead.
"I know that at Sundowns you can take out anyone and his replacement will be a quality player. I wanted to play but I knew that whoever stepped in would do the job. I knew that the team was strong enough to prevail. I am very proud of them. It's because of that effort that we are now going to Japan."
Sundowns leave for Japan on Monday. They'll arrive in Hong Kong just after midnight. Sundowns will play either Japanese champions Kashima Antlers or Oceania champions Auckland City on Sunday. Sundowns will sleep on Thursday knowing who they'll face.
"This is the highlight of my career thus far," Arendse added. "Going into the Club World Cup is a big thing even for the club.
"This makes up for missing the second leg of the final. The guys are very excited and we are looking forward to it. We will be facing teams that won their continental competitions which means that they are strong.
"But we are going into different conditions. We are going to Japan where it's winter. It will be cold. That's why we have to quickly adapt. But it will be a good experience for us. Hopefully we do well."
