Al Hilal head coach Joao Motta believes their Group A rivals Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns are the two favourites to win the CAF Champions League.
The Sudanese giants have been drawn in arguably the toughest group with a fierce rivalry between Al-Merreikh for the local derby along with champions Ahly and South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
But the Portuguese tactician is looking forward to the challenge of facing whom he believes are candidates to go all the way in the 2021/22 edition of Africa’s elite club competition.
“I look at groups with positive eyes. I love big matches and big opponents. I know my team well and what can be done well in this,” he told Filgoal.
“We will play against two teams that are favourites for the title and also against Al-Merreikh, our direct rival locally. We have only work and our goal is clear, which is to qualify for the next round.”
Motta admits he’s aware of the challenge of coming up against three-time Champions League-winning coach Pitso Mosimane as well as potentially playing their home games outside of Sudan.
“I know Al-Ahly well, as it is a club with a great history and a lot of experience, and one of the greats on the continent. Musimani is a great coach and won the title with Al-Ahly and with Sundowns, who has performed well over the past years,” Motta continued.
“It will be difficult to play outside our land all the matches. I hope that this problem will be resolved with the Confederation of African Football and that we will play our matches inside our stadium and among our fans, but we will fight for them in any stadium.
“I do not see my team among the candidates to win the title because there are many teams that have the ability and experience to win it, but I promise you that we will offer something different.”
