Orlando Pirates kick off their 2012 African Champions League campaign against Angolan champions Clube Recreativo Desportivo do Libolo at PE’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday.
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Bucs started the second half of their PSL campaign on Wednesday and ground out an uninspiring 1-0 win over lowly Black Leopards, who are in action in the Confederations Cup against Zimbabwean side Motor Action on Saturday.
Coach Julio Leal’s men seemed to be a bit rusty during the tie with Lidoda Duvha, following the lengthy mid-season break, and the Brazilian tactician is eager to see his players get back up to speed for the weekend’s clash.
“We take the Champions League seriously,” Leal told Times Live. “We are the only team that is representing South Africa at this level and the PSL hasn’t been doing well in the past few years in this competition.
“And the players we have registered for the Champions League [23 in total] have been with us since the beginning of the season and have committed to winning more cups and increasing their capacity of goal-scoring.”
Pirates are the only South African side to win the African Champions League. They claimed the silverware back in 1995 and are determined to emulate the feat.
Not much is known about their opponents for the preliminary round of the competition, but the Angolan side’s stand-out players are thought to be former Angola international Joao de Almeida and strikers Maieco ‘Rasca’ Antonio and Marcus ‘Viola’ da Silva.
Article source: http://www.football365.co.za/story/0,22162,14340_7528182,00.html
