Barely a week after witnessing the national team bow out of 2014 World Cup after a playoff qualifier defeat (4-1) away to Cameroon, the nation turns attention to continental club competition where Tunisian club side CS Sfaxien have a chance to atone for some of that heartache. CS Sfaxien coach Ruud Krol was in charge of The Carthage Eagles for the two playoff games against Indomitable Lions but will have to quickly refocus his attention on another battle at the weekend with club in the Orange CAF Confederation Cup final first leg against TP Mazembe.
Days after leading the national team of Tunisia in a failed bid to beat Cameroon and reach 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Dutchman will attempt to beat DR Congo’s TP Mazembe over two matches and add the Confederation Cup to the 2012-2013 Tunisian league championship he won in his first year in charge.
Mazembe will be in Tunisia for the first leg of the final on Saturday 23rd and their coach Patrice Carteron believes , the hosts will start our as favourites in this year’s final. Carteron admitted that Krol has molded CS Saxien into an outstanding side that plays impressive football and to stand any chance Mazembe will have to play out of their skins.
TP Mazembe captain, Tresor Mputu added that the squad has been preparing and working hard during their training camp in Ghana before they fly to Tunisia. “Ever since the disappointment of being knocked out of the Champions League we have made it our goal to win the Confederation Cup and it’s a competition we have never won before so there is extra motivation from these two factors.
We have in the team young players who will be playing in their first ever continental final and we want to win and make it a memorable occasion for all “said Mputu. “If we can take a positive result from the first leg that will help us a lot and it will be good to finish the job in the first leg” added Mputu
Sfaxien, the only club to win the Confederation Cup twice since its introduction in 2004, are based in Mediterranean industrial city Sfax and now Ruud Krol will have to put national loss aside as he seeks club glory for Sfaxien. He will be looking out to the sharpness of Ivorian Idrissa Kouyate and Fakhreddine Ben Youssef who have bagged the goals for Sfaxien on the way to the final this season.
The return leg is scheduled for Lubumbashi, DR Congo the following Saturday 30 November and the winner pockets US $625 000 while the runner-up gets US $432 000. The winner will face Orange CAF Champions League winner, Al Ahly of Egypt in a one off Super Cup match to be played in Egypt in February 2014.
Click here for more details about Orange Confederation Cup.
Confederation of African Football News
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