Espérance Sportive de Tunis coach Maher Kanzari has warned his players about Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of their highly-anticipated first leg of the CAF Champions League quarterfinals between the two teams.
The Tunisian powerhouse will face off against the South African champions at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. The kickoff is scheduled for 15h00.
Esperance boasts an impressive record against the Chloorkop-based giants, having triumphed three times and drawn once when the two teams have faced each other throughout history.
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In last season's Champions League semi-final, the Blood and Gold Club defeated the Brazilians with a 1-0 aggregate score over two legs. This was during the time when the current Downs coach Miguel Cardoso was still managing the Tunisian team.
Kanzari, who recently returned to Esperance, has emphasized that will not count and does not imply that his team will have an easy match against Sundowns, cautioning that his team must be ready for a challenging contest.
"It is a big game, the two teams are amongst the biggest teams in Africa and in these two legs, we will try to win, tomorrow we will do our best and get the best results and then finish the job at home," Kanzari told the media.
"Every game and every season is different so we cannot focus on the past. We have to focus on the present moment. Yes, we beat them last season in the knockout but that is now in the past.
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"The focus is on the now and the current players. We have to focus on the current situation and focus on the current Sundowns.
"We don't dwell on the past because football is about the now so we will write our on history in tomorrow's match."