Pitso Mosimane has drawn a comparison between Al Ahly and Real Madrid’s big-game mentality in the Champions League.
The South African tactician could reach his third straight CAF Champions League final on Saturday, when the defending champions take on ES Setif.
Al Ahly, though, will have the weight of expectations on their shoulders, but Mosimane insisted it can be a bonus as his players have the history of winning engrained in their mentality.
“History sometimes plays a role and other times not,” he stated.
“If you see the history of Real Madrid, it plays a role. They are a big club that won the champions league many times.
“If you go to Bayern when they played Villarreal, history didn’t play a role. I just believe in what is happening on the pitch.
“Small details matter. Al Ahly have been in the semi-finals many times. We know how to play those kind of games. So, I expect my team to use their experience in tomorrow’s game. We have no excuses.”
Mosimane has come under a bit of criticism recently following three league games without a win, but insisted his side are fully focussed on ES Setif and have done their homework on today’s opponents.
“We are back to the big stage of the Champions League. Big game against ES Setif, the team that eliminated Esperance and that shows the kind of opponent that we are playing against,”
“They didn’t defeat Esperance in Algeria but they did it in Tunisia. The team is fearless. They play strong and attack home and away.
“They are a well-coached team. Their goalkeeper is super, in relation to the games we’ve watched.
“We do our homework and follow our principles with my tactical team. I’ve been working with them for the past 8 years. We respect our opponent and we look at a number of games they played and we also look on their individual players.”
Al Ahly will host Setif at the WE Al Ahly Stadium in Cairo at 21:00 on Saturday.
