With Mamelodi Sundowns on the eve of a crunch CAF Champions League semi-final against reigning champions Wydad Casablanca, Soccer Laduma sat down with Moroccan football expert Benjamin Hajji to discuss the state of the north African giants ahead of the titanic tussle.
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Wydad have perhaps not performed at the same level Sundowns have this season. What are your overall thoughts on the Moroccan giants going into the CAF Champions League semi-finals, especially with the recent appointment of Sven Vandenbroeck?
Firstly, I think it is quite clear that [Mamelodi] Sundowns comes into this as favourites. I think it's the first time in a long time that Sundowns are favourites against Wydad. The teams have played each other quite a few times and I've always felt confident on Wydad's behalf. I think they've always been the most organised team of the two, the most disciplined. I think that Sundowns have been naive in the past and over two legs, I think Wydad have always found a way to see through Sundowns, but this time, I think it's different for both teams. Sundowns look a lot stronger, especially in possession, than they have in previous seasons. For Wydad, they have regressed quite a lot over the last two years. It's quite impressive, actually, that Wydad are still fighting for CAF Champions League, it's quite astounding because of how the club has been run over the last few years under the president. Changing head coaches all the time, a lot of players in and out, so it's surprising that they managed to be up there. I think Walid Regragui did overachieve a little bit with the team that he had, but since then, they have lost Achraf Dari in defence, who was the best centre-back in the Botola Pro, and a Morocco international as well.
They have not been able to replace him at all. The season before, they lost Ayoub El Kaabi and Walid El Karti, the midfielder who was very important to them and was a Morocco international as well. So those are three players who are hard to replace. Ayman El Hassouni, the offensive midfielder, has been very important for Wydad as well and he has not been himself in the last few months. He has gained some weight and just doesn't seem to be on it the same way, and the replacement that has come in has not looked as reassuring. They have found a way to grind out results still. They have a decent core. They have a good goalkeeper, the defence is more or less the same apart from Dari. The fullbacks are solid, and when they have all their central defenders available, with Houcine Benayada, the Algerian, and Amine Farhane, the two combative no-nonsense defenders are decent. And [Arsene] Zola, the Congolese, he is OK. And of course, there's [Yahya] Jabrane, the captain, he has to play, he's the most important player in the team. When he's not there, then you can notice it right away. But the midfield overall looks a lot weaker with Hassouni not in form and the loss of Karti, who was never really replaced. The arrival of [previous manager Juan Carlos] Garrido didn't change much. They've had a little bit of a merry-go-round with coaches as well. It was Mehdi Nafti who was there, the Tunisian, then Garrido came in. He had already been at Wydad but didn't set the world alight, so fans were skeptical with him from the start and he never really got the team going. So he had the fans on his back quite early, which didn't do them any favours, so it was no surprise when they changed coach.
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Obviously, for Wydad it is a huge advantage for them that they did change coach before their match against Sundowns because the fans have been so clear that they would never support this team under Garrido, and both in the context of the league and the Champions League, I think it was the right choice for them to change managers now before the last part of the season to see if that can galvanise the squad, because even though the quality of the players is not the same as before, they have that experience. A lot of the players have played internationally and in continental competitions before, so they know what this is all about.
It will be interesting with Vandenbroeck, because I don't think he's necessarily the type of manager to get the team going immediately. He has a very strong football philosophy, which can take a little bit of time to adjust to. We noticed with FAR Rabat as well, he took a little bit of time, I think it was the same at Simba when he was there. He's a little bit of a polarising character, so I think it's all about getting a good start. I think Wydad will sit back and let Sundowns have a lot of the ball. There is no point for them to go all-out attack. They will probably force them higher up the pitch, then try to counter and, of course, set pieces will be crucial, but I will be very surprised if Wydad advance against Sundowns.
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