adminSikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
A 100-MEMBER TP Mazembe delegation will touch down at the Harare International Airport this afternoon for a do-or-die Caf Champions League first round second leg clash against buoyant Zimbabwean kings Caps United at the giant National Sports Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The delegation will arrive on a private flight from Lubumbashi, the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, hoping to turn on the power and progress to the lucrative mini-league phase following a 1-1 draw in the first leg played at the Stade TP Mazembe last Sunday.
Caps United put up a disciplined tactical game and never allowed themselves to be intimidated by a sea of black-and-white TP Mazembe supporters who thronged the match venue, clearly expecting a routine massacre, which, however, proved to be just a pipe dream. Under fire coach Thiery Froger, who had to be escorted off the field by police as fans bayed for his blood last Sunday, believes they can and must get a positive result in Harare.
The fans were also particularly incensed by the coach’s failure to bench seasoned players like Tresor Mputu, although it is believed the coach is asserting his authority at the club.
He told the club’s official website: “When the team has a bad result, it’s everyone’s responsibility. Obviously, I have a part of responsibility. We have no choice in Harare, we have to go and win. We must focus our preparation on the desire to raise our level of play. Even if we lost players, even if we made a short preparation, further efforts are needed to present ourselves to the second leg with a lot of ambition.
“The players who will appear on the pitch in Harare must prove that they have the level to play in TPM, it was not the case with all of them on Sunday. In Lubumbashi, it was believed that it would be easy by the simple fact of coming with our audience to make a difference. It does not exist anymore in the world and Barcelona-PSG is an illustration of what can happen in football. In Harare, the solution is to have the will to score.”
If Caps United, who will be backed by an expected packed National Sports Stadium, put up a similar performance like they did in Lubumbashi, then one of the biggest Caf Champions League upsets is in the offing.
— @skhumoyo2000.
Online Reporter