Bucs caretaker coach Eric Tinkler has lamented about being in the dark about the Gabonese club, but snl24.com/kickoff has stretched its wings to Kitwe and got in touch with Chilumba, who coaches Power Dynamos, the Zambian club that lost 4-3 on aggregate to CF Mounana in the previous round.
Chilumba, fondly remembered for his creativity and intelligence in midfield during his time at Usuthu between 1996-98 before leaving for Belgium, is forthright in his assessment of CF Mounana.
“They play counter-attack football with not much of tactics involved in their game,” he tells snl24.com/kickoff.
“When they defend they pack numbers at the back, with their strength being that once they go on the offensive they make use of the two young wingers they have. Those two wingers are very quick, with their main task being to feed this big striker who holds up the ball well for them.
“At the back they have two big central defenders who are slow; those two centre-backs offer nothing other than physique. I will advise Pirates to play 4-3-3 away in Gabon because I believe they can win there if they are aggressive.”
Chilumba adds: “We didn’t lose to them because they are a better team. They scored four goals in the first leg at their stadium and then we scored three when they came to us here in Zambia.
“Away in Gabon they were awarded a dubious penalty for their first goal, while they also scored two goals from offside positions as the match officials were always on their side.
“So Pirates should know that the match officials will naturally be favouring that team at their home. They are not a good team.”
Chilumba also warns Pirates about the typical treatment usually meted to visiting teams in Central and West Africa, citing how they had to travel long distances for training.
“They booked us far from where we train and we had to travel over 45km to get to the stadium for training. Luckily the stadium is very small and they have absolutely no supporters, with just a few fans coming in to watch as they are an average team.
“The positive for Pirates is that the pitch is playable and made of natural grass. Then there is the issue with food and water. They serve very oily food so I will advice Pirates to travel with their own chef and their own water to drink.”
Pirates will play CF Mounana at the Stade Augustin Monédan de Sibang in Libreville on Sunday afternoon.