The Belgian tactician reveals the Msimbazi giants have grown in strides and have what it takes to the reach the final this season
Former Simba SC coach Patrick Aussems has come out to state the Mainland Premier League champions have a great chance to reach the Caf Champions League final this campaign.
On Friday, the Msimbazi giants were drawn to face Premier Soccer League giants Kaizer Chiefs in the last eight of the competition, with the East African nation set to play the first leg away on May 14 or 15 before they host the second leg on May 21 or 22.
Aussems, who currently handles Kenya’s FKF Premier League side AFC Leopards, but travelled home to Belgium when the league was suspended owing to the spike in numbers of positive Covid-19 tests, has said the Wekundu wa Msimbazi have adjusted many things since his time with the team and he believes they have what it takes to go all the way.
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“You know at the time I was handling them [Simba], they did not have good infrastructure or training ground because we were training in people’s stadiums sometimes Boko Stadium and sometimes Uhuru and again it was frustrating because we had to wait for other teams to finish training before we start ours,” Aussems said as quoted by Sokalabongo.
“But now Simba owns everything like any other big team in Africa and that’s why they can do well in the Champions League and they the quality to propel them to success.
“If you ask me, I see they have a great chance to play in the final as it is a team that has made great strides, and you could see their improved performance in the group stage of the competition.”
Simba had an impressive run in the group stage and topped a tough pool that included African champions Al Ahly, AS Vita Club of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Al Merrikh of Sudan.
They finished the group engagements with four wins, one defeat, and a draw and topped the pool with 13 points, two more than the reigning champions, the Red Devils.
Meanwhile, Amakhosi made it through to the knockout stage after finishing second in Group C where they faced Wydad AC, Horoya AC, Petro Atletico and managed nine points after picking up two wins, three draws, and a loss.
In the other pairings, Al Ahly will face Mamelodi Sundowns, MC Alger will meet Wydad Casablanca, while CR Belouizdad of Algeria will square off against Tunisian giants Esperance.
