Garzitto: I have waited so long to coach against Mazembe
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Playing TP Mazembe in the CAF Champions League semi-finals this weekend is a dream come true for Al Merrikh coach Diego Garzitto. The 65-year-old steered Mazembe to victory in the marquee African club competition six seasons ago.
But this Saturday he will be plotting the first-leg downfall of the Congolese Ravens before an expected capacity 45,000 crowd in the sauna-like heat of Omdurman. The Sudanese city, on the banks of the Nile opposite capital Khartoum, will also host the other semi-final between Al Hilal of Sudan and USM Alger of Algeria 24 hours later.
"I cannot deny that I have waited five years for this moment," Garzitto, who had two stints at Mazembe, told reporters this week.
And he says there is "nothing to worry about" despite Mazembe trouncing Moroccans Moghreb Tetouan 5-0 two weeks ago in the final series of group games.
"Mazembe are not the strong team they used to be," he said of the four-time African champions from southern Congolese mining city Lubumbashi. "Despite the quality of the players they have, Mazembe are not a team in harmony. I know their strong and weak points."
Garzitto, who boasts considerable experience of working in Africa as a national and club coach, says a 3-0 victory for Merrikh would be the "perfect" result: "Winning by one or two goals would be a good result and if we were able to win 3-0, it would be the perfect result."My strategy is to attack both at home and away. We have a strong strike force with the likes of Bakry 'Al Medina' Babiker, Didier Libre and Francis Coffie."
Merrikh have a perfect home record in Champions League qualifying and group games this season, winning all six matches, scoring 11 goals and conceding none.
France-born Mazembe coach Patrice Carteron calls Merrikh a "great team with a strong mentality who will pose a complicated challenge. "We know what awaits us in Sudan having lost 1-0 to Hilal there recently at the group stage," added the former Mali handler.
Tanzanian Mbwana Samatta is the form Mazembe attacker, bagging a brace in the rout of Tetouan, with Ghanaian Yaw Frimpong, Zambian Rainford Kalaba and Ivorian Roger Assale the other scorers.