TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup: Pre-match quotes from coaches and players
The TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup kicks off its Match Day 2 fixtures of the group stages on Friday, 28 November with a number of eye-catching ties on the cards.
This is what some of the coaches and players had to say ahead of their respective clashes.
Azam FC (Tanzania) vs Wydad AC (Morocco)
Azam FC Head Coach - Florent Ibenge
“We are in football for such matches and we must enjoy every opportunity such competitions bring to the players and African football. We have identified why we lost in the first game, so expect a great improvement from the team tomorrow. When you concede in a game, it makes work challenging for a team. We don’t want to regret by repeating the same mistakes. We want to write our own history but we must win matches to achieve this. We need points and we are going to fight for them starting tomorrow”.
Azam FC Player - Nassoro Saadun
“We respect Wydad, but our players are motivated playing at home and want to make a difference. We have quality players on our side and they will be looking forward to make a point. We know what we need to do to keep our hopes high at this stage of the competition but Friday will be different”
Wydad AC Head Coach - Mohammed Amine Bnehachem
“We always look for the three points and we are here to play an important match in our campaign.
It is not easy against Azam; they are a possession-based team that hardly lets the opponent touch the ball. Their build-up plays and speed in transitions and are different from what we usually see in Africa.
But we have our own identity, our own strategy, and we will use it to qualify and that is what matters most. They have an experienced coach and players who know African competitions well”.
Wydad AC Player - Thembinkosi Lorch
“The focus is on this game but also looking at how we can maintain the perfect start to the competition. I have faced Tanzanian opponents before while I was playing with Orlando Pirates but Azam FC is a different outfit as they are in the competition at this stage for the first time. It will be a tough game”
Zesco United (Zambia) vs Al Masry (Egypt)
Mathews Ndhlovu – Zesco United Coach
“We need to utilize home ground advantage even in the league we have been utilizing that. This time it is a matter of our team to rise to the occasion at home to make sure that this stage which demands high standard that we are up to task. To go far you need to win home games”
“Playing more North African teams has given us insight of how they play. We just played Zamalek and now Al Masry so we have to show that we mean business. The overall team of Zesco United means business, each and every player who is part of the team is able to deliver when given a chance. Time has come that now these others should rise to the occasion and perform for mother Zambia as well as deliver for Zesco United”
Lindo Mkhonta – Zesco United Captain
“We want to emulate the 2016 class that reached the semi-finals; the group stage has taken us one-step there. It is a very tough group but whether they are from Egypt or anywhere they are still going to for 90 minutes with us. We have worked very hard but the most important thing will be how prepared we are on the pitch”.
Nabil Kouki – Al Masry Coach
“Zesco United is playing at home and they have some experience in CAF competitions but as Al Masry we will not lose sight of our target which is to get maximum points. To get the three points we need to concentrate and use our experience. Experience matters in these kind of games”
Mogisha Bonheru - Al Masry Play
“I am happy to be here. We know that Zesco United is one of the big teams here in Zambia but we are ready and looking forward to the game. We are coming here to play some good football and to win. We did not know that Zesco has never lost a match at home to Egyptian opposition but we will be ready to try and break that record. It will be a tough match because they are playing at home but we will see at the end of 90 minutes”.
Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) vs Zamalek (Egypt)
Cedric Kaze – Kaizer Chiefs Coach
“I would say that, sure we didn't start well as we would have loved to, but we still have five games to play and regarding the performance that we had last week, even though we lost the game. We thought that we were at some point good at what we wanted to do. And we are very confident for tomorrow's game”.
“You know, it's those kind of games that everyone wants to play against big teams like Zamalek. It's a big team in Africa, it's a very good way to redeem ourselves from last week and the players are looking forward to the game tomorrow and everyone is excited because it's in those kind of games that we show how Kaizer Chiefs wants to be and what Kaizer Chiefs wants to achieve by playing against big teams like Zamalek.”
Khanyisa Mayo – Kaizer Chiefs Player
CAF Inter-club football is a different ball game and as someone who has played in north Africa before [CR Belouizdad], I can say that North African teams are very physical, you know compared to our South African players but we are for the test for tomorrow and we have been preparing the whole week very well and the mood in the camp is very high. So we are expecting a beautiful game and we are going all out to win the game.
Ahmed Abd el Raouf – Zamalek Coach
“We understand the casualties to the two injured key players but we are confident in the team’s ability to take on this game [against Kaizer Chiefs] and it's not the first time that we are coming into a game without key players. It happens where a big game will come and we have key players that are injured, but the team is trained and they know how to deal with that situation.”
“We are aware of how much the last game went and the mistakes we made but moving forward, we pick up on what what went wrong, what we can improve on and then from there we can be well prepared for the next matches.”
Omar Gaber – Zamalek Player
“Last season we lost to a South African team Stellenbosch in the same competition, so we know the quality in South Africa. We respect Kaizer Chiefs as a team, we respect their quality but we also trust in ourselves as well. So we will do our best to get the three points tomorrow.”
Nairobi United (Kenya) vs AS Maniema (DR Congo)
AS Maniema Union coach Papy Kimoto Okitankoyi:
"We are coming into this match with a bit of confidence from the win we had last weekend at home. Despite the fact that they are a new team in the competition, they have shown that they can compete. They picked a result against Etoile du Sahel which is a strong North African team and this shows they are no pushovers"
"In this day and age, technology has allowed us to do more research and we know what to expect from them. Our ambition coming here is to pick a good result. It would be great if we won but even if we get a draw away from home, then it is still a good result for us".
Osee Ndombele AS Maniema Captain
"We know the kind of opponent we are going to face and we know they are not an easy team. Even if they lost to Wydad in their first game, they have proved to be a competitive side. In these African Club tournaments, you can never underrate an opponent"
"Nairobi is almost the same altitude at home so we will not struggle to cope with the conditions. We are all ready to compete and ready to get a positive result back home".
Salim Ali - Nairobi United Coach
"This is our first home game in the group stages and we are excited for it. We are playing at home and that is a huge motivation for us. The fans have been amazing since when we won the Cup and into our first match against NEC and we expect them to play a part as well"
Yes, we lost the first game against Wydad, but in football, sometimes you have to look beyond the result. There were many positives picked against one of the best teams in Africa and it is that which we want to bring into the game tomorrow"
Enock Machaka - Nairobi United Player
"It is a huge honour to play a competitive CAF game at home and being the first Kenyan club at this stage in the last seven years. It will not be an easy match for sure because we respect Maniema and we know they are a quality opponent. Our ambition is one; pick the lessons from last weekend’s defeat against Wydad and improve in this match. We have identified areas we can improve especially in terms of possession and making our chances count"
Singida Black Stars (Tanzania) vs Stellenbosch FC (South Africa)
Stellenbosch Head Coach - Steve Barker
“I think obviously we get good results from the first match of the group stage, The game on Sunday becomes an important for us for just keep momentum”
“We are aware that all the teams that have reached the group stage are good and they are not easy to play against especially away from home. We anticipate a challenging match but we have prepared well ready to showcase as a team”
Andre De-Jong – Stellenbosch player
“In terms of the game tomorrow we are very excited to be back in Zanzibar after good results in our first game, we expect tough game, here and we are looking to secure again positive results away from home”
Singida Black Stars Head Coach - Miguel Gamondi
“We are ready, preparation so far so good, we had time to rest we are well prepared, we are full squad now I can say we don’t have excuses to try to perform very well tomorrow”
“For us it is a crucial game to get points in this stage at home and it is very important to collect maximum points - this is our goal for tomorrow”.
For me what is important when I prepared one game is to be concentrated what we need to be our strong point to correct our mistakes weakest point during our game before and thinking our opponent this is very important as well.
Nickson Kibabage - Singida BS player
"We as players are ready after losing our first match away from home. We will be at our home ground, from our preparations we believe we can secure the good results"