Simba coach proud despite CAFCL exit

by Graeme Jackson

Tuesday May 25, 2021. 11:00

Simba SC coach Didier Gomes Da Rosa has stated that he is proud of his team despite their exit from the quarterfinals of the CAF Champions League.

Wekundu wa Msimbazi were beaten 4-3 on aggregate by South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs, with the Tanzanian side almost mounting a stunning comeback this past weekend.

Four-nil down from the first leg in Soweto, Simba won the return game 3-0 at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, almost completing what would have been one of the greatest recoveries in African club football history.

“We are disappointed because we have done a very wonderful performance [in the second leg],” said Da Rosa, as quoted by IPP Media. “But we are not happy because we lost the qualification in the first match.

“I am very proud of my players because they showed big commitment, they were wonderful and had a good fighting spirit, they fight until the end of the match, they didn’t give up and for sure we deserved to win.

“We had a lot of scoring opportunities to kill the game and qualify but unfortunately football sometimes is like this, if we had managed a better result in the first leg for sure we could reach the semifinals.”

The French tactician added that Simba should be considered amongst Africa’s top club teams regardless of their exit from the competition.

“We all know that Simba is one of the best teams in Africa and we showed that [on Saturday] against Kaizer [Chiefs] but we had done too many mistakes in the first match and the score was too heavy for the opponent, but we showed we have the level to go to the semifinals,” he explained.

Chiefs will go on to face Wydad Casablanca in one of the semifinal ties, while the other sees reigning champions Al Ahly tackle Esperance de Tunis.

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