AmaZulu ready for Champions League
AMAZULU coach Benni McCarthy and club chairman Sandile Zungu have emphasised that they are excited and ready for the prospect of playing CAF Champions League football next season.
As things stand, Usuthu are in strong contention to claim one of the two spots available in the Champions League next season, and based on their current form, they will be favourites to earn second place in the Premiership this season.
“AmaZulu are very excited about playing continental football. What better way to display patriotism than to go into the continent and play against our peers? Next season, we will look to strengthen in the transfer market,” said Zungu.
McCarthy has drawn plenty of praise for his work at the helm of AmaZulu as the club’s recent win over Golden Arrows took them to 50 points, the first time that they have reached that milestone since the inception of the PSL.
The ambitious McCarthy stated that his aim was always to do better than the top-four mandate assigned to him by Zungu.
“As a coach, you have your own ambitions as well. I said I will do my best to reach the top-four target, but I have my own ambitions as well. We ended up making it the players’ ambition that we can compete against anyone. If you look at our matches, we only focus on ourselves on the field,” McCarthy said.
Playing in Africa is certainly tougher than playing domestic football due to the unpredictable atmospheres, environments, and pitch conditions, hence it would make sense for AmaZulu to bring in experienced Champions League players should they qualify for the tournament.
While McCarthy is open to adding fresh faces to his squad, he stressed that the core of his side is likely to remain the same.
“We don’t want any Tom, Dick, and Harry coming into the team. We have to work with what the club has. We try to make the players better and when they have unity, they play better,” he said.
“I can’t see AmaZulu losing the next few games and the Champions League may be coming. We have to scout and see which new players we can bring in, but we won’t make wholesale changes. There will be a few new faces coming in but the players who got us here will be rewarded for their hard work,” McCarthy said.