Group stage success is behind us now – Rakotondrabe
Madagascar coach Romuald Rakotondrabe says their impressive run in the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) group stage is now behind them, as they prepare to face Mozambique in the quarter-finals at the Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine on Saturday.
Madagascar came into the tournament quietly carrying the underdogs tag but ran rampant over their opponents with a 2-1 win over Ghana before crushing Sudan to a 3-1 defeat to emphatically book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Speaking at the Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium during his team’s pre-match press conference on Friday, Rakotondrabe cautioned against going into the match with the confidence of doing well in the group stages, saying that this is an entirely different match which requires a different approach.
“We are glad to have reached this stage of the competition but we are not getting ahead of ourselves as there is still a lot of football to be played. The success of the group stages is behind us now. We are not thinking about that anymore because playing the quarter-finals requires a totally different mentality which we need to adjust to” said Rakotondrabe.
The 43-year-old coach was yesterday announced as the best coach of the group stages of the competition by the CAF Technical Study Group (TSG) for his tactical prowess, an achievement he says he does not take for granted, but will not allow it to distract him from the bigger goal.
“I am humbled to be recognised by CAF for such an award. There are very good coaches in this competition which I think deserve recognition. Africa has some good football coaches that we need to celebrate. There is a bigger goal at hand and we need to remain focused on that”, said Rakotondrabe.
On taking on his Southern African neighbours, the coach said they were a very good and physical side which needs to be respected.
“They are a very good side and have not reached this stage of the competition by mistake. We know what they are capable of from watching their matches. You could see some of their tactics in their matches and they will most likely be even sharper against us so we need to ensure that we are well prepared for their physicality. We may not match them physically but we need to be very strong mentally and play our game” said the coach.
Rakotondrabe was flanked by his captain, Randrianiaina Tantely who echoed his coach’s sentiments, acknowledging that they have done well but that it should distract them on the task at hand.
“Many people at home are proud of what we have done and so are we. However, the tournament is far from over and they will be even more proud of us if we continue to progress in the tournament. We need to remain humble and continue pressing forward. Mozambique will be tough to beat so we should not get ahead of ourselves and think we have arrived. We must still play football”, concluded the skipper.
Kick Off at the Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium on Saturday will be at 17h00 GMT.