AFRICAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2015 - Semi-finals - 1st leg - preview

AFRICAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2015

 

Semi-final 
1st leg 

26.09.15: Al Merreikh vs TP Mazembe -:-
27.09.15: Al Hilal vs USM Alger -:-

Al Merreikh coach Diego Garzitto will realise a dream when he leads his side against TP Mazembe in the Champions League semi-finals this weekend.

Diego Garzitto wants to hand former club TP Mazembe a heavy defeat in their Champions League tie.

The 65-year-old Italy-born handler steered DR Congo's Mazembe to victory in the premier African club competition six seasons ago.

But this Saturday he will be masterminding the Sudanese club's tactics before an expected capacity 45,000 crowd in the sauna-like heat of Omdurman.

The Sudanese city, on the banks of the Nile opposite capital Khartoum, will also host the other semi-final between Al Hilal of Sudan and USM Alger of Algeria 24 hours later.

"I cannot deny that I have waited five years for this moment," said Garzitto, who had two stints at Mazembe.

And he insists there is "nothing to worry about" despite Mazembe trouncing Moroccans Moghreb Tetouan 5:0 two weeks ago in the final series of group games.

"Mazembe are not the strong team they used to be," he said of the four-time African champions from southern Congolese mining city Lubumbashi.

"Despite the quality of the players they have, Mazembe are not a team in harmony. I know their strong and weak points."

Garzitto, who boasts considerable experience of working in Africa as a national and club coach, feels a 3:0 victory for Merreikh would be the "perfect" result.

"Winning by one or two goals would be a good result and if we were able to win 3-0, it would be the perfect result," he said.

"My strategy is to attack both at home and away.

We have a strong strike force with the likes of Bakry 'Al Medina' Babiker, Didier Libre and Francis Coffie."

Merreikh have a perfect home record in Champions League qualifying and group games this season, winning all six matches, scoring 11 goals and conceding none.

France-born Mazembe coach Patrice Carteron calls Merreikh a "great team with a strong mentality who will pose a complicated challenge.

"We know what awaits us in Sudan having lost 1:0 to Hilal there recently at the group stage," added the former Mali handler.

Tanzanian Mbwana Samatta is the form Mazembe attacker, bagging a brace in the rout of Tetouan, with Ghanaian Yaw Frimpong, Zambian Rainford Kalaba and Ivorian Roger Assale the other scorers.

Drug cheat and leading USM Champions League scorer Mohamed Youcef Belaili has been ruled out of the Hilal tie after receiving a two-year international ban this week.

Belaili, who scored four Confederation of African Football goals this season, tested positive for an unspecified banned substance last month after a group victory over fellow Algerians Mouloudia El Eulma.

USM, whose best previous showing was reaching the 2003 semi-finals, are returning to Omdurman two weeks after losing 1:0 to Merrikh in a group game.

Twice runners-up Hilal are a multi-national squad coached by Tunisian Nabil Kouki and captained by Saif Masawi, a defender with a fondness for scoring goals.

The second legs are scheduled for next weekend in Algiers and Lubumbashi.