Local rivals eye home comforts
 |
| FIFA.com |
When the CAF Champions League started several months ago, the favourites were assumed to be the traditional power-houses of African club football. Between them Al Ahly, Esperance, Raja Casablanca, TP Mazembe and ES Setif had won the competition 19 times, but when the semi-finals kick-off this weekend the only club with any direct knowledge of lifting the trophy is Mazembe, while the three other teams remaining are all pursuing a first-ever title.
Surprisingly, Sudan still has two representatives left in the competition as both Al Hilal and Al Merreikh escaped the group stage. And with both finishing as runners-up, they avoided playing each other and are on course to become the first teams from the same country to face each other in the final of the showpiece event of African club football. Both clubs are at home in the first leg, with Merreikh facing DR Congo's Mazembe, while Al Hilal take on Algerian club USM Alger, whose 1-0 defeat in Sudan against Merreikh in their final group game prevented them from becoming the first club in the history of the competition to win all six group matches.
Although Merreikh and Hilal have long dominated Sudanese football – winning 41 of the last 43 league titles between them – they have not managed to convert that into anything major on the continental stage. Hilal, who have won the league a record-breaking 27 times, have had some modest success. In 1987 and 1992 they advanced to the final, losing both times, and on four occasions - the last time in 2011 - they have reached this stage.
But if Hilal can look back at limited success in the Champions League, Merreikh, who have eight less league titles than their bitter rivals, have been punching below their weight for a long time. Although they can look back at 21 appearances in the competition, they have only one quarter-final and one participation in the group stage to show for their efforts.
The game between Merreikh and four-time champions Mazembe in Omdurman on Saturday has opened the door to an intriguing clash that sees French coach Diego Garzitto welcome the club with whom he won the Champions League in 2009. Merreikh's success in the Champions League this season is built on a remarkable home record with the club winning all six matches in the 45,000-seater Al Merreikh stadium, scoring 11 goals and conceding none.
The confident Garzitto insists the team will be on front foot from the start. "My strategy is to attack in both home and away matches, like we did against Esperance and Kabuscorp at the knockout stages. We have a strong attack with the likes of Bakri Al Medina, Didier Lebri and Francis Coffie, who have the ability to score in Omdurman and DR Congo. There is nothing to worry about."
Merreikh missing four
A day later Merreikh's local rivals welcome USM Alger, who are hoping to become the fourth team from the North African country to lift the continental title, following MC Algiers (1976), JS Kabylie (1981, 1990) and ES Setif (1988, 2014). Coach Miloud Hamdi's preparations however were thrown into disarray as he has to undertake the trip to Sudan without four players. Undoubtedly the biggest loss is the unavailability of Youcef Belaili, with the Algerian international striker, who scored four goals in this years' competition for the Red and Blacks, receiving a two-year suspension at the beginning of the week after a positive test for a banned substance. Both player and club have already accepted the suspension.
Hamdi will also be without the services of Hocine Benayada and Osama Darfalou, who are representing their country in the World Military Games and Ayoub Abdellaoui. The defender is suspended for the first leg after picking up a second yellow card in USM's defeat against Merreikh.
Although not as impressive as cross city rivals Merreikh's home record, Hilal's performance at home in the Champions League has also been outstanding. They have won five of their six matches at home with a goal difference of 11-1. The only blemish on their record was a 1-0 defeat against Moghreb Tetouan – the first time the team lost at home in the competition since 2011.
The Blue Wave are coached by Nabil Kouki, and the Tunisian has just taken the side into the Sudanese cup final after a 1-0 win against Al Ahly Shandy. Kouki has managed to put together a competitive squad with Brazilians Jhuliam and Andrezinho and Cameroon international goalkeeper Maxime Loic Feudjou among a number of foreigners in the team. The return legs will be played next week, with the winner of the two-legged final to come representing the continent at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan at the end of the year.