A first season return of 15 goals had several clubs – who included Kaizer Chiefs – salivating over the services of Cameroonian striker Alain Amougou following his arrival from a country known for being a holiday destination.
Amougou joined Sundowns from Reunion club St Louisienne at the beginning of the 1999/2000 season after leading the Indian Ocean Island nation club to a shock Champions League aggregate victory over the Brazilians earlier a few months earlier.
READ | Rulani's trusted soldiers at Sundowns revealed
How a club from Reunion came to have a player who Sundowns would show interest in, was as surprising as how a club from that country would get past the champions of South Africa.
Ultimately, Amougou was signed as replacement for Raphael Chukwu after the Nigerian left for Italy.
"I had been in Reunion on a six-month loan deal following contractual issues with my Turkish club," says the France born Cameroonian.
The short stint in Reunion led to a move to Sundowns and in his first season, Amougou banged 15 goals.
Such was the hype around the dreadlocked striker that a wave of interest was ignited.
"There was interest from Kaizer Chiefs after my first season," confirms Amougou.
"But then I realised that it was going to be impossible for me to move from Sundowns to Chiefs because these two teams are rivals.
"As a foreign player arriving in South Africa, you only get to understand the rivalry once you have spent time in the country.
"Can you imagine how Sundowns fans would have reacted if ever it did happen that I went to Chiefs after such a good first season at Sundowns.
"Sundowns would have never agreed to that happening so in the end I realised that it was impossible to join Chiefs.
"I came to understand later that if you perform at Sundowns then there is no way a move to Chiefs can happen while you still have a contract.
"In my case I had a contract that had an option to extend so Sundowns did the obvious and I stayed instead of taking up the option to move to Chiefs after their interest was put to me," says Amougou.
The Cameroonian eventually stayed three years at Sundowns but his scoring numbers dropped in between injuries and he eventually left for Ukraine.
"What also helped in my case was that I wasn't 21 or 22 when I came here but around 26 or 27 so I already had experience.
"If I had come here while still a bit younger, I would have needed time to adjust.
"People always think that football is about just playing but that is not the case," he notes, while responding to the struggles that fellow countryman Souaibou Marou has faced at Orlando Pirates.
"I came to South Africa having grown up in France where I was exposed to better development structures and trained to be mentally able to cope in different environments.
"With the boys who come straight from Cameroon to South Africa, it can be difficult for them unless they have been in good development structures.
"Then there is also the matter of how fast the football is here in South Africa.
"I wish coaches in South Africa would also understand where these players are coming from because that also helps.
READ | Sundowns fall to Mazembe in Lubumbashi
"So, it is normal that a player coming from Cameroon like the boy at Pirates will need time and once that doesn't happen then he gets frustrated.
"It doesn't mean that he can't do the job, but he needs to be accommodated," says Amougou.