Mohau Nkota reflected on the disappointment Orlando Pirates suffered in last season's CAF Champions League (CAFCL) semi-final defeat to eventual champions Pyramids FC, and paid tribute to the tournament that almost gave him what he described as his "biggest dream".
Nkota -- who played on the wing for Orlando Pirates and has been utilised both there and as a fullback by Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq in his first season abroad -- was a standout performer for Pirates last season.
He particularly came to life in the CAF CL with four goals and two assists in nine appearances in his debut season in the competition. Pirates made the semi-finals, but lost 3-2 to Pyramids on aggregate. Nkota's goal in the second leg of that tie ultimately proved to be in vain.
"For me, it's a very good feeling. Even in my first game in the CAF Champions League (a 2-1 win over CR Belouizdad), I started with a brace - I scored two goals," Nkota recalled to Saudi Pro League Media.
"[I was] happy scoring goals, helping the team go further, further and further. Scoring that goal [against Pyramids] in the second [leg] of the semi-final - if we won that, the guys [would have] had to go to the final.
"We wanted to go to the final. That was my biggest dream - playing in the CAF Champions League final... We didn't make it, but I was very happy and excited to play in the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League."
Nkota separately told ESPN that playing on the wing in the Champions League was the ideal preparation for him to move abroad and face world-class defenders in the Saudi Pro League.
He said: "The thing that prepared me, I think, was the CAF Champions League at Orlando Pirates. I think I played [against] strong left-backs there. They will come hard at you and won't give you space to turn in order to take them on.
"The only thing you will do is run behind them and if you run behind them, it's big [in terms of risk]. If the ball starts coming back, they are [ahead] of you already."
Nkota, after a spell out of action dealing with a family bereavement, has found himself back in the side in Saudi, and hoping for selection to South Africa's FIFA World Cup squad.
He started Bafana Bafana's first game at the Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] - a 2-1 win over Angola - but has fallen down the pecking order since and missed the recent friendlies against Panama in late March.
With Bafana's World Cup opener against co-hosts Mexico on June 11 around the corner, Nkota enters a critical stage of the season, in which his CAFCL experience could prove more pivotal than ever.
Back home in South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns will fly the flag for the country as they face Morocco's AS FAR in a two-legged CAF Champions League final on 17 and 24 May.