WeeklySA_AdminCONTINENTAL GLORY: PIRATES TAKE ON ALGERIAN GIANTS MC ALGERS IN A TWO-LEGGED CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL
By Ali Mphaki
Its back to Algeria for Orlando Pirates who will resume their CAF Champions League campaign against 1976 champions MC Alger after the two were pitted against each other in the live draw held in Qatar on Thursday.
Algeria, or the Land of the Martyrs if you prefer, is where Pirates kicked off their group stage campaign with a win against their next opponents’ domestic rivals, CR Belouizdad.
The first leg of the tie will be hosted in the North African nation a week before the deciding leg at Orlando Stadium. It will be a historic first meeting between the two sides, who both made history by becoming the first teams from their respective countries to claim the coveted piece of silverware. Pirates won the competition in 1995 when they beat ASEC Mimosa of Abijan 1-nil courtesy of a brilliant solo .goal by striker Jerry Sikhosana.
The winner of the two-legged tie will contest the semifinals against the triumphant side in the clash between Egyptian outfit Pyramids and AS FAR of Morocco.
The knockout phase of Africa’s flagship club competition is scheduled to kick off in early April, with the eight remaining teams vying for the four semifinal spots.
All four match-ups in the last eight were determined in the live draw held in Doha on Thursday, with all teams present discovering their route to continental glory.
Affectionately known as “The Doyen”, the Algerians are making their third appearance in the quarter-finals while competing in the illustrious competition for the ninth time. They will be looking to reach the heights of their debut appearance, where they went all the way to be crowned champions.
For the Buccaneers, this will be a return to the knockout stages having last featured in 2013 when they eventually fell on the final hurdle. Jose Riveiro’s troops will be looking to take another step towards clinching their second title, adding to their 1995 crown.
To achieve that, they will have to tap into their pool stage form, following an impressive showing where they finished as one of two teams to navigate their entirety of the previous round still unbeaten.
The draw for the quarter finals of the CAF Champions League 2024/25 also saw three of the four African clubs that will take part in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 involved.
The CAF Champions League 2024 finalists Espérance Sportive de Tunis will have to put a hard shift against Mamelodi Sundowns FC of South Africa. Last season, their semi-final meeting went in the Tunisians’ favour, with two 1-0 wins thanks to goals from Yan Sasse in the first leg and Raed Bouchniba in the return.
For their part, Egypt’s Al Ahly FC, two-time reigning African champions, will meet Sudan’s Al Hilal. Al Ahly, the most successful club in the Champions League (12 titles), have reached the final seven times in the last eight editions, winning six of them. The fourth African participants in the FIFA Club World Cup, Wydad AC, African champions in 2022, are not involved in the 2024/25 edition of the Champions League.
The highly-anticipated quarter-finals kick off on 1 April, with the decisive second-leg fixtures getting underway seven days later. CAF will announce the individual fixture dates and kick-off times in due course. Meanwhile, Stellenbosch FC head coach, Steve Barker says the club wants to make its own mark on the continent through their maiden TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup appearance.
The South African coach was reacting to Thursday’s TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final draw that saw the tournament debutants pitted against reigning champions and Egyptian giants, Zamalek SC.
The two sides will lock horns in a double-legged tie that will determine whether the South Africans’ dream debut impressively moves into the semi-finals, or the Egyptian giants continue with their title defence.
