Do Kaizer Chiefs have one more surprise left in them ahead of CAFCL final?

For the very first time in history, and on the biggest of stages in African football, South African giants Kaizer Chiefs will have one more game to put behind their domestic woes when they take on Egyptian champions Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League final set for Saturday night at Stade Mohamed V in Casblanca, Morocco.

Chiefs’ outstanding run to the final of the most prestigious event in African football has been nothing short of magical. On their journey, Amakhosi have had to pull together in order to knock out Tanzanian big boys Simba – a team that defeated Al Ahly in the group stages – and Moroccan champions Wydad Casblanca in the quarters and semis of the competition respectively to get to where they are now.

But in this ultimate match, the Glamour Boys arguably face their biggest test against Africa’s most successful club with nine continental titles to their name, the most recent one being the last edition in 2020. Chiefs will be trying to stop the defending champions from bagging the ‘Al-Ashera’ – a record-extending tenth title and star to their name.

Speaking ahead of the match, returning new head coach Stuart Baxter, who will be on the touchlines for the first time after getting his paper works timely sorted, revealed that only the club can show what they have left in them in the final match after a myriad of challenges mostly in the domestic campaign.

“We are all aware of the situation of the club in terms of where we stood in the PSL, how long we travelled in the Champions League. We have had a lot of challenges but the players have managed everybody and surprised everybody, do we have one more surprise left in us? We will see on the night,” the head coach is quoted on KickOff

For Al Ahly and Pitso Mosimane, who are the favourites for the title, the main task will be on how to breach a Chiefs backline that has kept eleven clean sheets in the fourteen games they have played in the tourney. Mosimane , however, in a pre-match interview on the club’s website, backed his side to be fearless as they chase a tenth star.

“We will go to the final in the same way which helped us win last year. The same way that helped us reach the final this year and the same way which helped us win the CAF Super Cup. That is the only way we know,” he said.

For Baxter and Chiefs, victory would see the club claim its first-ever trophy in the competition, while Mosimane will be hoping to guide the club to back to back victories and a record-extending tenth title in the tournament. Just who will be crowned champions?

The match kicks off at 2200EAT.