Zamalek, Zesco hope for home joy

In the 19 years since Africa’s premier cup competition introduced a group phase, just three times have southern African teams have made it through to the final. A fourth will definitely follow this year, as the CAF Champions League semi-finals has pitted the two North African and the two southern African clubs remaining in the competition against each other.Cairo giants Zamalek get the ball rolling in Alexandria as they take on Moroccan rivals Wydad Casablanca on Friday, while current South African champions Sundowns make the short trip to Ndola for their match against Zambian club Zesco United a day later.Zamalek, who have won the competition second-most of any club with five trophies, surprisingly finished second in their group behind Sundowns, to set up the match against Wydad, who is coached by Liverpool playing legend and long-time coach John Toshack. The Welshman has managed Wales and Real Madrid among many others, and he told media this week that his run in Africa has been a success for him thus far. “To be honest, if we can win [the Champions League], for various reasons, it would have to go down as one of the most successful periods of my career. There have just been so many things we have had to adapt to,” he said before turning to his potential future plans. “If things go wrong here, like they could easily do, I’m not sure I would have the patience again to turn things around. We’ll see how we do in these semi-finals and then that would be a good time to sit …

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