CAF inter-clubs draws for the Champions League Group Stage and the Confederation Cup mini-league which were staged on Tuesday finalised in spectacular transparency, a far cry from the preliminary rounds often seen as an opaque hand picking “fix” to separate the “wheat [bigger nations] from the chaff [minnows]”.
The Champions League threw off an unprecedented scenario; for the first time, three clubs from same country have reaching the mini-league stage. The historic feat witnessed yet another new chapter with the three teams being housed in the same group.
Algerians
Holders Etoile Sportive du Setif and compatriots USM Alger and MC Eulma were drawn together in Group ‘B’ with Sudanese side, El Merreikh completing the quartet. But it will be weird, Merreikh having to travel thrice to Algeria.
Algeria will be the centre of attraction in the next few months with the presence of the three clubs. Unlike Setif and USM Alger, MC Eulma are at this stage for the first time and look set to continue their fairytale story amongst the big guns of African football.
First time
USM Alger, nicknamed the ‘Reds and Black’ are making a return to the group phase for the first time since 2004, where they finished third in a group which had the likes of Esperance Sportive du Tunis (Tunisia), Jeanne d’Arc (Senegal) and SuperSport United (South Africa).
MC Eulma have walked a tough journey till this far ousting renowned clubs such as Saint George (Ethiopia), Asante Kotoko (Ghana) and CS Sfaxien (Tunisia).
The 2015 CAF Champions League and the 1/8 the round play-off of the CAF Confederation Cup draws were held on Tuesday at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
Recent
They were conducted by the CAF General Secretary, Hicham El Amrani assisted by 1st Vice President, Suketu Patel, 2nd Vice President Almamy Kabele Camara and CAF Executive Committee member, Mohamed Raouaraoua.
In recent past, we have witnessed the likes of DR Congo duo, TP Mazembe and AS Vita in the same group of the CAF Champions League just as Egyptian rivals, Ahly and Zamalek.
Thrilling
There will also be thrilling interest of the Champions League in the Cecafa [Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations] region. Sudanese sides El Merreikh and Al Hilal, the giants of Omdurman, are in the Group Stage, and excitingly for the fans, managed to stay apart and will each have hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
Focus on El Merreikh will be spread further because their leading striker is Kenya international Allan Wanga and mercurial goalkeeper is Uganda’s Jamal Salim Magoola.
Regular
El Merreikh return to the stage for the first time since 2009. After several unsuccessful attempts, the ‘Al-Zaiem’ found their luck this time at the expense of two-time winners, Esperance of Tunisia.
Four-time winners, TP Mazembe are favourites in Group ‘A’ where they are joined by regular campaigners, Al Hilal of Sudan. Debutants Moghreb Tetouane of Morocco and Egyptian side, Smouha complete the pairing in the group.
Following the draws here are sampled reactions of some officials of the participating teams.
Hatem Abdel Gaafar (Team Manager, El Merreikh)
The draw is good and we are hoping to well. This is our second time at the group phase. Our target is the title and we will work towards it.
Wael Gomaa (Football Director, Al Ahly)
We expected to be drawn against a strong club, based on the participating clubs. About 10 of the clubs have at least won a continental before. It will be difficult for us but we hope to defend the title we won last year. We have good players and the coach (Fathi Mabrouk) is someone who knows the club very well.
Hamada Anwar (Team Manager, Zamalek)
All the qualified teams are champions in their respective countries. I hope we will have a positive result from the first leg so that we won’t be under pressure in the return leg. We are having a good season and we hope to continue by winning the competition.
Frederic Kitenge (General Secretary, TP Mazembe)
It is a good draw for us. We are in a group with two debutants, Smouha and Moghreb Tetouane. It will be complicated because these are new teams we don’t know much about.
I’m really happy we avoided El Merreikh, handled by our former coach Diego Garzitto, who knows much about our team. The other group is an Algerian affair, three Algerian teams against Merreikh and is good we avoided such a group.
Mohamed Ashraf (President, Moghreb Tetouane)
It is good we avoided the Algerian clubs. The draw give us a chance to at least play in the semis. We are looking forward to play Smouha, following the warm reception we received in Egypt when we played against Ahly. At the moment in Sudan, I think El Merreikh is better than El Hilal, and this give us a chance. TP Mazembe is the strongest in the group, but on paper we have chance.
…
2015 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Group ‘A’:
Smouha – (Egypt)
MA Tetouan – (Morocco)
TP Mazembe – (Congo Kinshasa)
Al Hilal – (Sudan)
Group ‘B’:
Etoile Sportive du Setif – (Algeria)
USM Alger – (Algeria)
El Merreikh – (Sudan)
MC Eulma – (Algeria)
…
1/8 the round playoff of 2015 Orange CAF Confederation Cup
El Ahly (Egypt) vs Club Africain (Tunisia)
Esperance (Tunisia) vs Hearts of Oak (Ghana)
AC Leopards (Congo) vs Warri Wolves (Nigeria)
CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) vs ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire)
AS Vita (DR Congo) vs Stade Malien (Mali)
Orlando Pirates (South Africa) vs AS Kaloum (Guinea)
Zamalek (Egypt) vs Sanga Balende (DR Congo)
Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) vs Raja Athletic Club (Morocco)
Group phase:
Group ‘A’:
Winner El Ahly (Egypt) vs Club Africain (Tunisia)
Winner Esperance (Tunisia) vs Hearts of Oak (Ghana)
Winner Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) vs Raja Athletic Club (Morocco)
Winner AS Vita (DR Congo) vs Stade Malien (Mali)
Group ‘B’:
Winner Zamalek (Egypt) vs Sanga Balende (DR Congo)
Winner CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) vs ASEC Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire)
Winner AC Leopards (Congo) vs Warri Wolves (Nigeria)
Winner Orlando Pirates (South Africa) vs AS Kaloum (Guinea)
– Additional reporting by CAF and VoiceofSport
