AmaZulu midfielder Keegan Buchanan says Usuthu are excited for the challenge of playing Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League group stages on Saturday.
The CAFCL debutants have already gone further than many predicted, having got through the preliminary rounds, including knocking out previous champions TP Mazembe.
AmaZulu start with the daunting task of facing Casablanca in Morocco, and Buchanan says it’s a big challenge against one of the giants of African football.
“It’s a big experience, the first time obviously in the Champions League, big honour for the club,” Buchanan told the club’s media department.
“So obviously we’re excited, we’re looking forward to the game, playing a big team again, we will give them the respect because they’ve earned it, but obviously on the field, in the 90 minutes, we’re obviously going out with our plan to get the result and and on the field, we will obviously do our best to make sure that we get the result that we want.”
While Buchanan says having a few players who have experienced the competition before is good, it’s also a nice challenge for those tasting the CAFCL for the first time.
“Ja, the experience is obviously needed in times like this, you need players who are experienced,” he added.
“But I think for those who haven’t played as well, it’s also a nice challenge to take upon yourself and obviously challenge the best in Africa.
“So it’s a learning curve for us but obviously we’re confident, we’re not gonna go there [trying not] being nervous or anything like that, obviously just gonna go out and take it as any other game, even though we know the magnitude of the game.”
