Moroccan finishers poised for final showdown
Egypt’s Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco won through to the final of the 2017 CAF Champions League with respective defeats of Etoile Sportive du Sahel and USM Alger in the semis. Two players who contributed much to those victories were Moroccan forwards Walid Azaro and Achraf Bencharki, the former scoring a hat-trick in Al Ahly’s second-leg demolition of Etoile and the latter a brace as Wydad overcame USM. Both sides will be hoping their star strikers can stay in among the goals and propel them to the continental title and a place at the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2017.
Azaro was born in the coastal city of Agadir. He began his career with Adrar Souss before joining El Jadida in 2015, making 66 appearances for the club in the next two years and scoring 30 goals. His exploits in the Moroccan league prompted Al Ahly to make him a lucrative offer, one he accepted.
Criticised by the Al Ahly fans for some wayward finishing in his first few games with the club, Azaro soon began to find his feet and the back of the net, scoring in the first leg of the quarter-final against Esperance de Tunis and then helping himself to a that hat-trick against Etoile.
Speaking after his tie-winning efforts against Etoile, he said: “I’d like to thank my team-mates and the fans, who’ve been cheering me on the whole time. It’s only been a question of time because I’ve been feeling so motivated. I’ve finally been able to find the target and score a hat-trick.
“We were focused right the way through the match and made the most of our chances to kick on and win the game.”
Bencharki scored a hat-trick for MAS against Hassania Agadir before signing for Wydad. He has since become something of a talisman for the Casablanca club, who struggled when he was suspended for the first leg of their quarter-final against South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, a match the Moroccan club lost 1-0.
“We won this match because of my team-mates, who really stood up and showed what they’re made of,” said the two-goal hero afterwards. “We can’t forget the fans either. They kept pushing us on right to the last minute.
“Our minds were on the job from start to finish. We made it through to the final despite Amine Atouchi being sent off. We’re absolutely delighted.”
Giving his response to his side’s defeat, USM coach Paul Put hailed Bencharki’s performance: “He made the difference. He’s the reason we lost.”
As far as Azaro is concerned, the best is yet to come: “We haven’t shown anything yet and the final is only the start. We need to forget the last match and focus on the next one.”
Aware that the task will not be easy against Bencharki and Co, the Moroccan added: “You don’t get to the final without being a good side and it’s going to be very tight. Like I said, we need to move on from the semi and work hard if we want to lift the trophy.”