We’ve got the info on our opponents, says coach Benni McCarthy
Being the new entrants in the Caf Champions League’s group stages doesn’t give AmaZulu FC coach Benni McCarthy sleepless nights. Rather, he sees it as “a huge advantage” as no one knows much about his side while he has all the information about his opponents.
Usuthu will face Raja Casablanca of Morocco, Algeria’s ES Setif as well as Horoya AC of Guinea teams with immense experience in African interclub football.
Casablanca, the current holders of the Caf Confederation Cup, are the three-time winners of the Champions League, having lifted the trophy in 1989, 1997 and 1999.
ES Setif were crowned the African champions in 1988 while Horoya have been a regular feature in the Champions League group stage in the last six years and were eliminated in the last-eight in 2018 and in the 20182019 season.
Despite all that, McCarthy told the Sunday Times in Durban this week that having plenty of data on their opponents will help in his planning for their African sojourn, starting with their trip to Casablanca on Saturday.
“The good thing is we have all the data on them for playing in the Champions League and other Caf competitions over the years,” said McCarthy.
“I’ve seen Horoya playing against Pirates and (Mamelodi) Sundowns. So we kind of have an idea of what they’re about. On the other hand, they have no idea what we’re about.
“We’ll do our due diligence, analyse them and try to see where they’re really, really strong. So you can kind of create a strategy based on what you’ve seen. We hope that can be a good point of reference for us to go and show them what an unknown team can do.”
But before the trip to Morocco, Usuthu have some tough business today as they meet Pirates at Orlando Stadium in the last-32 Nedbank Cup.
McCarthy may play two new players, Abbubaker Mobara from Cape Town City and gangling South Sudanese striker Abraham Majok, who the Durban club signed in the January transfer window.
Mobara is a versatile player both in defence and in midfield and McCarthy said he may use the player to fill Siyathemba Sithebe’s position in the middle of the park.
Sithebe is unlikely to feature much at Usuthu as he’s set to join Kaizer Chiefs in January.
The AmaZulu coach is, however, particularly pleased to have Majok, a 23-year-old striker who joined Usuthu from Cypriot First Division club PAEEK after spending a few years in the Australian football league.
“He’s got different qualities from what we’re accustomed to here,” said McCarthy.
“He reminds me of (Siyabonga) Nomvethe”— his assistant at AmaZulu and former Bafana Bafana teammate.
“He’s very calm when he’s in the box, he’s composed and can finish. He doesn’t like to waste chances. We enjoyed that because you have players who don’t mind missing a chance because they believe they’ll get another one.
“With him it’s different. He’s hard on himself and that’s when you know that’s why he’s played abroad because he’s got that mindset. He’s excited and once he’s settled, he’s going to enjoy his stay here. He’s a different kind of striker.”
But will we see Majok against Pirates?
“Of course, I didn’t sign him not to play. He’ll definitely be introduced in the game, whether it’s early or late, we don’t know yet. We’ll introduce him because we want to win and want to make our intentions clear that we’re not going into this match thinking about the Champions League.”