Looking for Soccer News?
Caf Champions League: AmaZulu draw inspiration from Kaizer Chiefs - McCarthy
Usuthu will be up against the Malawian giants and the coach hopes they will have a good home record in the competition
AmaZulu head coach Benni McCarthy has revealed they are going to draw inspiration from Kaizer Chiefs' home form last season as they engage in the Caf Champions League.
Usuthu will face Nyasa Big Bullets of Malawi on Friday at Moses Mabhida Stadium and the tactician believes Amakhosi's home form in the Champions League in the last campaign would be a key source of inspiration in their pursuit of success. Chiefs managed to sail through to the final, where they lost to the defending champions, Al Ahly of Egypt.
"If you look at Kaizer Chiefs last season, they were ruthless at home, they were punishing teams at home, so we are going to draw inspiration from that and if we can do exactly the same, we will give ourselves a fighting chance," McCarthy said in a pre-match presser.
"It is an opportunity for all of us to learn. We want to make our own history and build our own success.
"We are not nervous because a number of players have played for their national teams on the African stage and so we know what is expected. We are excited about that and we believe it is a great opportunity."
Although the tactician admits they know little of the Malawian side, he believes they have prepared enough to pick a positive result on Friday.
"We have worked on our approach, different strategies and how we are going to battle the physicality of African sides," McCarthy added. "We have worked on all aspects of our game and we think Friday can come quicker because we want to get over the butterflies in our stomachs, myself included, and the players."
"They will be a tricky opposition and we do not know how physically they are, how good they are, how fast, quick and strong they are. So, it is really unknown, so we just have to rely on a few games clips that we have got from TV footage and from the Malawi league.
"When you are playing at home, you have to make sure the opponent's strength does not end up punishing you. We have looked at how strong they are and what they are good at doing. We have worked to ensure they do not get us off guard."
McCarthy will not have Augustine Mulenga and Thembela Sekhakhane available for the preliminary round encounter as the two are injured.
