Kaizer Chiefs aim to break Egyptian curse in CAF Confederation Cup

KAIZER CHIEFS will be looking to do away with a somewhat wretched record in Egypt when they kick-start their CAF Confederation Cup group campaign this weekend.

Amakhosi are on a mission to win their second continental title since being crowned CAF Cup Winners’ Cup champions back in 2001. To do that, they will have to get the better of two strong opponents from the land of the Pharaohs starting with El Masry whom they face away this weekend.

With former champions Zamalek also in their group, the Glamour Boys face a tough challenge in their quest to get back to the top table of African football, Chiefs having last been to a continental final back in 2021 when they suffered a 3-0 defeat to – wait for it – Al Ahly in the Champions League. That final was, however, played in Casablanca, Morocco.

Still, Chiefs’ record in Egypt does not inspire confidence and co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Ben Khalili Youssef are going to be hard-pressed to ensure their men overcome what appears a hurdle the club just cannot seem to scale. Amakhosi have never won a match in Egypt since South Africa’s readmission to continental football back in 1993.

When they first participated in CAF competitions, Chiefs clashed with Zamalek in the Cup of Champions Club in 1993 and were eliminated via the away goals rule following a 2-2 aggregate draw. They’d won 2-1 at home but then suffered a 1-0 defeat in Cairo.

They made the trip to the land of the Pyramids again in 2001 to face Ismaily in the quarterfinal and got some joy courtesy of a 1-1 draw that ensured they progressed to the semifinal via the away goals rule. Chiefs went on to win that competition by defeating Angola’s Inter Luanda 2-1 in the final.

That success earned them a clash with Al Ahly in the CAF Super Cup for yet another trip to Cairo. It again ended in tears as they got smashed 4-1. Their most recent clash against an Egyptian side was when they lost to Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly albeit in Morocco.

They are a club that thrives on challenges Chiefs though and having made it clear that this is the season they reclaim their status as one of the country’s top sides, you can bet on them to not be intimidated by past results.

Of course, their task will not be easy with just two teams progressing from the four-team group and the smart money being on the Egyptian clubs to be the ones that make it to the knockout stage. But the club’s Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Junior did say after the draw that they are pleased to be going to play in a country that will not be a logistical nightmare to get to and settle.

And the fact that the other team in their group is from neighbouring Zambia in the form of Zesco United says Amakhosi are not going to have much trouble on their travels – a factor that is often the undoing of many clubs in continental competitions.

And as they look towards the weekend’s opener, Chiefs would lose nothing in making a quick call to South African coach Fadlu Davids for some tips on how to get the better of their Egyptian opponents, Davids having knocked El Masry out of the last year’s CAF Confederation Cup  quarterfinal via the shoot-out from the penalty spot with Simba SC.