CAMEROON soccer kings Cotonsport Garoua flew into the country yesterday afternoon and immediately predicted a tough battle against Harare giants Dynamos in their African Champions League semi-final, first leg showdown at Rufaro on Sunday.
Cotonsport arrived with a 20-man strong squad that comprises four Niger internationals and two players that are part of the current Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
The Cameroon giants made it to their first ever semi-final appearance by topping a tough Group B that comprised Democratic Republic of Congo’s seasoned campaigners TP Mazembe, fancied Enyimba and Sudanese perennial contestants Al Hilal.
Cotonsport wasted no time after their arrival with the West African side immediately getting down to work with a late afternoon session.
While their record is enough to give them bragging rights, Cotonsport’s youthful Ivorian born French coach Ouombleon Guedon Alain was last night taking a cautious approach to the game and instead spoke highly of their opponents in Sunday’s match.
The 36-year-old, probably the youngest mentor in the Champions League, reckoned that Dynamos were a very good team that deservedly reached the semi-finals.
He also believes that Sunday’s match will be a very difficult one for his team.
« We have known Dynamos over the years and everybody knows that they are a great team. We have watched them play their last four games and I must say I was impressed with their performance against Al Ahly.
« They lost that match (In Egypt) but they were very impressive, after the match I said that they were a complete team and they are just not about individuals.
« They fight together, they have got good players in all departments and they really deserve to qualify for the semi-finals.
« We watched their game against ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan and their final game against Zamalek and we know what to expect
« We know that it’s going to be a very difficult match, nobody can say what is going to happen but we are a very ambitious team and we are very simple’’.
The French coach, a former Nantes player in the French First Division who also has had coaching stints in Saudi Arabia and is in his second spell in Cameroon, only arrived just days before Cotonsport began their Group B mini-league campaign.
Oumbleon replaced his compatriot Denis Lavagne, a five-time league championship winner with Cotonsport, who quit following a row over unpaid bonuses. But Oumbleon has seen little of such troubles and reckoned his team has been improving with each outing.
« The Champions League is a very difficult competition. Many people were surprised that we finished first in our group which was very difficult.
« But we were not surprised because we have got so many talented players and they all work very hard.
« We played against great teams and I feel that we deserved to qualify. We are motivated, we know it’s a very difficult competition and I’m happy that my team showed some great improvement during all these matches.
« We respect Dynamos a lot, but we will try and do our best and get a good result. We are confident and very ambitious, » he said.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Soccer Supporters Association has appealed to the fans not to invade the pitch on Sunday as such behaviour could attract a heavy fine for DeMbare from the Confederation of African Football. Eddie « Mboma » Nyatanga , ZNSSA life vice-president also called upon the fans to come in their droves to support Dynamos in their bid to reach their second Champions League final inside 10 years.
« Dynamos have reached a very crucial stage and it is against this background that we would like to appeal to all the fans against invading the pitch.
« There is a tendency by some fans to invade the pitch once the team scores, but this will be very unfortunate for the club as they risk a heavy fine.
« Let’s all have a positive attitude towards this big game and support Dynamos. They have done the nation proud and having come a long way, let’s stick together to achieve the best.
« We expect Rufaro to be full to capacity and I would like to thank the fans for their good behavior against Zamalek.
« They showed great maturity, they never booed the team and we had a result which will live long in our memories, » said Nyatanga.
By Mtulisi Mafa
