South African club Mamelodi Sundowns are due to face Moroccan visitors FAR Rabat in the CAF Champions League final first leg, with Colombian striker Brayan Leon tipped to be the trump card for the hosts.
The 25-year-old has been in sparkling form since joining the Pretoria outfit in January, scoring 11 goals in the South African Premiership and five in the Champions League.
His African tally included the solitary goals in both legs of the semi-final triumph over four-time champions Esperance of Tunisia.
"Brayan is a fighter. He reminds me of (former Sweden star Zlatan) Ibrahimovic the way he battles for every ball," said teammate Jayden Adams in a pre-final press conference.
"He presses constantly. Brayan can turn a bad pass into a good one. He adds quality to our team and is an incredible footballer."
Appetite for Golden Boot
Leon will line up against FAR having scored a hat-trick and a brace in his last two South African league matches. He had another disallowed goal.
Apart from wanting to help Sundowns win the elite African club competition a second time, the South American will also be eyeing the Golden Boot award for leading scorer.
His five goals place him joint second, one goal behind Cameroonian Taddeus Nkeng from Malian club Stade Malien and Mahmoud Trezeguet from record 12-time Champions League winners Al Ahly of Egypt.
Stade fell to Sundowns and pre-competition favourites Al Ahly to Esperance in the quarterfinals of a competition first staged in 1964.
‘We respect FAR Rabat’
While Sundowns rely heavily on Leon for goals, 1985 African champions FAR boast a wide range of potential scorers with five netting two each, including midfielder and captain Mohamed Hrimat.
No FAR player has scored more than once in 14 African matches this season except for winger Youssef El Fahli, who struck twice in a preliminary-round win over Real Banjul in the Gambia.
Sundowns were surprise losers to Egyptian side Pyramids in the final last season and Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso is concerned that his team are once again being labelled favourites.
"FAR are on the same level as Sundowns. They have developed a very strong team. We respect them," he told reporters.
"Those who believe the final will be easy for us, and not as difficult as the semi-final against Esperance, are completely wrong."
