Wydad AC is considered to be one of the best and most successful football teams in Africa and one of the most popular clubs in Morocco and as they head to the weekend CAF semi-finals return leg against first time Kaizer Chief they will be taking a lot of experience with them having won the CAF Championsleague two times.
On the Flipside Kaizer Chiefs Boys did absolutely well to beat Wydad away from home earning themselves an advantage for the second leg. Kaizer Chiefs Bruce Bvuma was on target blocking Wydads Final third shots hence delivering undoubtedly one of the best performance in his career
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There is no doubt that the away team will once again be looking to test the Chiefs shot-stopper at the FNB Stadium on Saturday and it would be unrealistic for the club to expect heroics from him in every game.
Should the Chiefs win the Champions League despite their poor league form, it will not be the first time such a situation has happened. Roberto Di Matteo famously won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012 despite his side having finished sixth in the English Premier League that season.
If the Chiefs play a high defensive line and frustrate Wydad, they should be able to get the job done and possibly even score against the run of play.
For the Soweto giants to achieve the unlikely, their team as a whole will have to play their part. All they need to do is prevent Wydad from winning by a big score.
EXPERIENCED WYDAD
Wydad is haboured with experience with twenty Moroccan league titles and nine Moroccan Throne Cup.
In continental international competitions, the club has won one Mohammed V Trophy, two CAF Champions League, one CAF Cup Winners, one CAF Super Cup, one Afro-Asian Club Championship, one Arab Club Champions Cup, one Arab Super Cup, three North African Championships, three North Africa Super Cups and One North Africa Cup.
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Should Chiefs advance to the final of the Champions League, it will be the first time in their history that they would have done so. By contrast, Casablanca reached the final of the competition in 2019 and last won it in 2017.
Their superior experience in continental football will work in their favor. On the road to the final in 2019, Wydad also topped a group that featured Pitso Mosimane’s Mamelodi Sundowns and eliminated the South African football giants in the semi-finals of the competition.
If they could eliminate Sundowns at a similar stage of the competition fairly recently, they will feel confident that they can get the job done against the Chiefs.
CONFIDENCE
Wydad is on course to win the league in Morocco. They top the standings, ahead of Raja Casablanca, by six points with seven games remaining.
The Moroccan league is physically demanding and, judging by how Raja Casablanca outclassed Orlando Pirates in the CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinals, it’s safe to say that the North African league is probably more competitive than the South African Premiership.
Wydad would have also done thorough research of the Chiefs squad and learnt that they were beaten recently at their home fortress by SuperSport United, Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila and Orlando Pirates.
Wydad are certainly a technically stronger side than the aforementioned trio and so they are capable of beating Chiefs in their own backyard.
Chiefs have lapsed several times this season
Kaizer Chiefs have made several comical errors domestically this season but have somehow looked a completely different side in continental competition.
Domestically, they were eliminated from the Nedbank Cup by GladAfrica Championship side Richards Bay and finished eighth in the league, below the likes of Golden Arrows, SuperSport, Moroka Swallows and Cape Town City.
Due to the quality of their players, they should have finished ahead of the four teams, especially City whose defense resembled that of a team facing relegation.
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