Young Africans SC head coach Miguel Gamondi says he’s expecting a nice game when his side take on Kaizer Chiefs in the inaugural Toyota Cup on Sunday.
Yanga faced Bundesliga side Augsburg in the Mpumalanga Premier’s International Cup opener, and held their own, going down 2-1 to Jess Thorup’s side.
After the match, Gamondi insisted that his side gave a good account of themselves despite being in the early stages of their pre-season.
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“We are not in the right time to play this high-level game,” he told SA journalists after the match.
“But we decided to play because it’s a learning game for us, it’s very nice to experience these type of games.
“I think tactically it was a very good situation for us. In the first half, we played against their first team. They created three, four chances and scored.
“We created chances, we were in shape, we played face to face. I told the players ‘we can show African football is not far from European football’.
“They have all the financial means and everything but in Africa, little bit by little bit we are growing up.
“And we showed tactically our players are ready. I think all of Tanzania must be proud of this performance, because even in the second half they changed the team, we changed a lot of players, and I can say maybe we deserve to draw the game.
“But for the result is not most important. The most important was how the team played, how they showed character. The character was unbelievable and we need to continue to work.
“We are far from our best, we need three more weeks of [pre-season] work. But for us it’s a very good lesson. We need this experience and I’d like to congratulate the team.”
Gamondi also believes that his side will be more ready to face Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs in Sunday’s Toyota Cup match in Bloemfontein.
“For sure, we have one week more to work,” he added.
“To be a little bit more fit and more tactically working, but not 100% like we were [at the end of last season]. I think Chiefs will be in the same position.”
The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach added he is a expecting somewhat of a spectacle against Amakhosi.
“Football for me as a coach, football is a show. We need to play football, we need to play attacking,” he added.
“For me it would’ve probably been more easy to play five defenders, park the bus and see what happens. But it’s not my style and I think with Chiefs will be a nice game as well because we will play attractive football.”
Amakhosi are expected to touch down in South Africa this week after their pre-season tour of Turkiye as they continue their preparations ahead of the 2024/25 season.
