Chabab Belouizdad head coach Nabil Kouki says ‘every team’ in the quarter-final has the chance to win the CAF Champions League.
The Algerian champions, who are currently unbeaten in their domestic season and on course for a fourth consecutive league title, face off against Mamelodi Sundowns, one of the clear favourites to win the competition this season.
Sundowns romped to a sixth straight DStv Premiership crown and with seven games to spare – the signs of ominous that this could be one of the strongest squads they have assembled to date.
But the Tunisian, who was in charge of ES Setif when they faced off against AmaZulu last season – believes they have what it takes to potentially eliminate the South African giants.
“Every team has a chance to win this Champions League, and we will try to take our chance too,” Kouki said about the Masandawana draw.
“All the teams left in the competition are good teams, we are included, so we will do our best to win the first leg and [try to] play comfortably in the second leg [in South Africa].”
His assistant coach Nader Hbiri admitted not many teams wanted to draw Sundowns, but of the group winners, he feels they all would have preferred to avoid CRB – who finished on ten points in Group D, one point behind Esperance de Tunis.
“As for the African Champions League draw, we know that all the teams that qualified are the best,” Hbiri said before reiterating Kouki over the approach to the two-legged clash.
“And the first three teams want to avoid facing CRB because we’re an excellent team.
“The luck avoided us with [drawing] Sundowns. It is a strong team and excellent team. They have strong technical elements and collective strength.
“But we also have strong elements. We will prepare for this match to win the first-leg match to play comfortably and confidently in the return match.”
The two sides meet for the first leg in Algiers at the Nelson Mandela Stadium on 22 April before the return leg at Loftus Versveld seven days later.
