Confidence that borders on arrogance, some would say, but Al Ahly head coach Marcel Koller is looking beyond the CAF Champions League semi-final against Mamelodi Sundowns after overcoming Al Hilal in the penultimate stage.
Al Ahly beat Al Hilal 2-0 on aggregate to set up a mouthwatering meeting with bitter continental rivals Sundowns in the semi-finals.
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For their part, the South Africans marched onto the next stage after beating Esperance Sportive de Tunis 1-0 on aggregate.
The two African giants are set to battle each other in the first leg of the semi-finals in Pretoria on the weekend of April 18-19.
The Red Devils have won the Champions League for the past two seasons and Koller is now eyeing to win it for the third and write own history in African football.
“We have won the last two editions of the tournament and if we win for the third time, it would be a historic achievement that no club has ever done. That's a huge motivation for us”, the Swiss coach told the media on Tuesday.
Al Ahly and The Brazilians have met 16 times, with the Chloorkop-based outfit beating the Egyptians five times and drawing on six occasions.
“We have played against Sundowns before and it will be a tough match. The first leg will be in South Africa and the return leg in Cairo. Our goal is to reach the final, but of course, Sundowns have the same motivation. I believe we are capable of winning the title”.
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”All possibilities are open for Sundowns. We will face them over two matches and they won't be easy at all. After that, comes the final, which means we have four tough matches remaining,” said Koller.
Sundowns are set to return to the country soon to prepare for the Nedbank Cup semi-final against Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday.
