Kaizer Chiefs’ sporting director, Kaizer Motaung Jr, has reflected on the club’s previous exploits in CAF competition, emphasizing the importance of capitalizing on home games.
Amakhosi were paired in Group D in the CAF Confederation Cup alongside two Egyptian heavyweights, Zamalek SC and Al Masry, with Zambia’s ZESCO United also making up the group.
The Soweto giants secured qualification for the group stage of the competition after a 3-1 aggregate victory over AS Simba in the second preliminary round.
The last time Amakhosi participated in a CAF club competition was in 2021; they reached the final of the CAF Champions League, which they lost 3-0 to Al Ahly SC.
“I think every single team that is participating is playing to win. If you’re playing to participate, I don’t think you’d be in this competition. So, of course, that was a different competition, different stakes, things happened differently, COVID was happening, crowds weren’t really in the stadium. We’re very excited and motivated to be playing in full stadiums, of course, going as far as we can,” said Motaung Jr.
Amakhosi will be hoping that their return to African club competition is a fruitful one and sees them make a significant impact, similar to four years ago, when they surprised fans and neutrals by reaching the Champions League final.
Home ground advantage will be of paramount importance if the Glamour Boys are to live up to Motaung Jr’s expectations, given the hostile conditions that the club will face in Egypt.
“I think you have to plan the two legs strategically, at the same time, whether it’s home or away, if you’re winning your matches, you’re progressing. I think you need a little bit of experience in these tournaments, in these encounters away. So, your home ground, you need to make sure that it’s a bit of a slaughterhouse, you get the environment in your favour, the crowd behind your back,” added the 44-year-old.
Home ground advantage has certainly paid dividends for North African sides in continental competitions, as Chiefs’ opponents, Zamalek, have won five Champions League titles and two Confederation Cup titles.
“We’ve seen with some of the North African giants, the atmosphere that they’re able to create is a real plus, and if you’re going to those environments, it can be very hostile, so we’re going to create that ourselves and use the people’s energy to propel ourselves to victory,” said Motaung.
Chiefs hosted their preliminary round matches at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto, where they drew large crowds, but that will not be the case as they progress in the CAF Confederation Cup.
“Dobsonville isn’t an accredited stadium for the group stages, so it was just for the preliminary stage,” concluded Motaung.
The Glamour Boys’ faithful will be hoping that their return to the much larger FNB Stadium propels them towards their continental objectives.
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