JOHANNESBURG - Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane is wary of Kaizer Chiefs’ unpredictability, saying they’ll have to respect Soweto giants when the two teams square off in the showdown of the Caf Champions League in Casablanca, Morocco, on July 17.
On Saturday night, Chiefs made history when they reached their first ever final in the Pan-African competition - thanks to a 1-0 aggregate win over Wydad Casablanca in the semi-finals. They won 1-0 away from home, before holding the Moroccan side to a 0-0 draw at home.
Chiefs will meet the defending champions Al Ahly in the final at Stade Mohammed V on July 17. The Egyptians are on the verge of reaching La Decima (a 10th title) in the continental showpiece after a 4-0 aggregate win over Esperance in the semi-finals.
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They defeated the Tunisian 1-0 away, before hammering them 3-0 at home. Al Ahly are coached by South African-born coach Mosimane, who has had fierce local battles with Chiefs as a coach for nearly two decades. He's wary of the threat posed by Amakhosi.
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“You have to pay attention to details against them. They are a very good team in terms of organisation. They don’t give away goals easily. They’ve not conceded a goal in their stadium. They don’t score a lot of goals,” said Mosimane on Saturday night.
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“But they can defeat you. They scored four goals at home against Simba. And we didn’t. So, we need to respect them. But I don’t know what to say. I can easily speak about Mamelodi Sundowns or Orlando Pirates but not Kaizer Chiefs. So, I don’t know what’s coming.”
Taking to his personal Twitter account on Saturday, Mosimane congratulated Chiefs’ chairman Kaizer Motaung on the milestone.
Congratulations Chairman “Shintsha Guluva” for reaching the Final of CAF Champions League.Let’s give credit where its due.✌️ https://t.co/sxxOrv1kli
— Pitso Mosimane (@TheRealPitso) June 26, 2021
He tweeted: “Congratulations Chairman “Shintsha Guluva” for reaching the final of the Caf Champions League. Lets’ give credit where it’s due.”