Chiefs have conquered Africa before, but that was way back in 2001 when they won the African Cup Winners Cup and were voted the African Club of the Year. While they remain the most successful SA club in terms of knockout competitions, the Phefeni Glamour Boys have, like Zimbabwe’s Highlanders, been found wanting on the Caf Champions League front.
That is a record they have kept for a long time and one they are desperate to shake off, especially because their biggest local rivals, Orlando Pirates, have triumphed and came close to repeating the same feat just two seasons ago.
Just after Pirates had fallen short of winning a repeat Champions League trophy two seasons ago, Chiefs were left thumb-sucking after they fell 3-2 on aggregate to AS Vita of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the second round.
Instead of being a source of embarrassment to the well-sponsored side, that was a learning curve, at least according to their Zimbabwean-born holding midfielder, Willard Katsande. “We learnt a lot from last year’s experience in the African Champions League,” he said.
“We conceded three goals against AS Vita on the road. At home, we scored twice, but that wasn’t enough to take us through because we had already conceded too many goals on the road. We now know that our success will only come if we respect one golden rule of the game – do not concede a goal when playing away.”
The industrious Zimbabwe Warriors midfielder was convinced that Amakhosi would reach at least the group stage of the Champions League this year, despite having laid a somewhat weak foundation when they were restricted to just a 2-1 home win by Botswana’s Township Rollers in the preliminary round last weekend. Katsande’s Warriors team-mate, Mathew Rusike, scored the opening goal for Amakhosi.
“Of course, we have to take it game by game. One must never plan too far ahead,” he explained. “However, there is a real desire in the squad to succeed in the Champions League this year. It will also help us that we have many internationals in the squad, who have a lot of experience playing on the African continent.”
Post published in: Football