Al Ahly coach Mosimane: Kaizer Chiefs are bigger than Mamelodi Sundowns

BetOdds CAF Champions League Kaizer Chiefs PSL Mamelodi Sundowns Al Ahly

The former Bafana Bafana coach spent eight years with the Tshwane club, winning five domestic league titles and the Caf Champions League title in 2016

In terms of stature, Kaizer Chiefs are higher ranked than his former club Mamelodi Sundowns, says Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane.

In fact, one of Mosimane’s last major acts before leaving Sundowns for Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the later part of last year was to break Chiefs fans’ hearts by helping the Brazilians to pip Amakhosi to the league title on the final day of the 2019/20 season.

Now Mosimane will once more be plotting the Glamour Boys’ downfall as he gets set to lead the Red Devils out for the Caf Champions League final against Chiefs on July 17, at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco.

And in the build-up to the big game, the Ahly coach is showing plenty of respect to the Soweto giants.

“Kaizer Chiefs is one of the biggest teams in South Africa in terms of popularity and the club is bigger than Sundowns,” said Mosimane, as quoted by the Daily Sun.

“They have a bigger support base than Sundowns. They are a good team, and you just have to respect them.”

It’s been a season of contrasts for Chiefs.

Going into the final weeks of the domestic campaign, they were in danger of getting sucked into the relegation fight, before managing to win their last two matches, which resulted in a top-eight finish in the league.

And while their African campaign has for the most part been based on a tight defence, they have at times also leaked goals – for example losing 4-0 to Wydad Casablanca in the group stage, or going down 3-0 to Simba SC in a quarter-final second leg clash.

“They scored four goals against Simba but conceded three goals. It is not easy to describe them," Mosimane admitted.

“They finished eighth on the log but they are in the Champions League final. You have to pay attention to them. They are a very strong team in terms of organisation, they don’t give away goals easily.

“They have not conceded a goal in their stadium. They don’t score a lot but they can defeat you. We have to respect them.”

2021-06-28 10:00:03

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