TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Match Day 5: Pre-match quotes from coaches and players
The TotalEnergies CAF Champions League’s group stages are gradually drawing to a close, with Match Day 5 of the group stages officially taking place this weekend.
With the stakes ever so high in Africa’s premier club competition, the coaches and players have promised to put their best foot forward.
This is what they had to say ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
AS FAR vs Raja Casablanca
Hubert Velud - AS FAR Coach
"We are aiming for victory. This is our main goal for tomorrow. The match against Raja is often a great challenge for us as a club, obviously taking into account the rivalry between the two clubs. Tomorrow will be decisive for both teams and we aiming for victory in order to qualify.”
Hafid Abdessadek - Raja AC Coach
"I believe in the ability of my players and to show up against AS FAR who will also be playing for victory. We are aiming for the 3 points in order to keep all our chances in our hands. Our goal is to qualify and that is why we are doing everything possible to reach out goal. Confidence is high within the group and I am confident of a good result.”
Sagrada Esperanca vs Pyramids FC
Krunoslav Jurcic - Pyramids FC Coach
"We have to forget the 5-0 of the first round and be focused in tomorrow as what they did after that loss to us speaks volume. Sagrada has not conceded since the defeat. So if we really think of reaching finals of this competition, we need to fully focus on the next match and not dwell on the past.”
Francisco Hungo - Sagrada interim coach
"With our winning result against Djoliba, we gave ourselves some breathing space. Against Pyramids, it is a must win so that we can continue being in contention for a place in the next stage."
Al Ahly SC vs Stade d’Abidjan
Marcel Koller – Al Ahly Coach
“Our goal is to take points tomorrow. It will be difficult due to some players being injured but we are Al Ahly. The pressure is always on us. We respect the opponent and for we must stay 100% focused and do everything to ensure victory.”
Mohamed El Shenawy – Al Ahly Captain
“It's going to be a difficult match With our experience we have made a good journey. Our goal is to be first and we will put up our best performance.”
Douayere Serge Alain – Stade d’Abidjan coach
“Certainly the match will be difficult but our determination remains. We will persevere until the end. We want to win our last two matches. We have been punished for lack of experience but rubbing against great teams helps us. So we're going to try to disrupt the ranking."
Ben Toure – Stade d’Abidjan Player
“The state of mind is good. It was difficult in South Africa but it's football. We are proud to live this experience We are ready for tomorrow. The opponent is a great team that we respect but we will play our best.”
AS Maniema Union vs Mamelodi Sundowns
Miguel Cardoso - Mamelodi Sundowns coach
"We are focused and determined for tomorrow's game. We are obligated put up a good result performance to reclaim our top spot in group B before finishing the group stage phase next week at home."
Neo Maema –Mamelodi Sundowns Player
"We will approach tomorrow's match with determination. It will not be an easy task against a good side.”
Papy Kimoto - Maniema Union Coach
"We consider tomorrow's match a "semi-final". We are determined to win and boost our chances before going to Morocco. We are not yet eliminated, so we have our luck and our destiny in our hands.”
Age Basiala – Maniema Union player
"We know the importance of tomorrow's game and we prepared well for this match with the coach. We are ready to snatch our first victory from our fans against a good side like Sundowns.”