Africa-Press – Tanzania. SIMBA Head Coach Didier Gomes has called on his charges to take another big step in the CAF Champions League next season to surpass where they reached last term.
The Msimbazi Street based club alongside Young Africans will fly high the national flag in the 2021/22 Champions League tournament after they scooped first and second positions in the 2020/21 Mainland Premier League.
Gomes is so far probably one of the happiest coaches in the world after he managed to retain two major domestic trophies in his first spell at the helm of Simba thereby fulfilling the club’s target they set at the beginning of the campaign.
“Next season, we need to take another step in the champions league after having many regrets last season. We need to go very far,” Gomes said in Dar es Salaam recently.
Commenting on the two titles they have managed to retain, the Frenchman dedicated them to their supporters while insisting that Simba are the strongest in Tanzania this season.
He also disclosed that the country needs to have many good playing venues in order to develop football. Moreover, he narrated that he is happy to work in Tanzania.
On his part, the club’s manager Patrick Rweyemamu said after ending the past season in style, they will give players at least a two-week break before assembling for the next season preparations.
“We are proud to win two trophies and most importantly, to claim the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) title in front of our traditional rivals.
“This means they will compete in international matches through our backs as such, without us, they could not have gained that opportunity,” he said.
This will be a repeat of 2019 when the two clubs simultaneously competed in the champions league of which Simba were eliminated in the preliminary stage after recording a 1-1 draw against Mozambique side UD Songo.
The outcome saw UD Songo marching into the next round courtesy of away goal which was converted by the current Simba’s lethal player, Louis Miquissone.
On the other hand, Yanga under then coach Mwinyi Zahera managed to venture into the second round following a 2-1 aggregate away win against Botswana’s Township Rollers in Gaborone, Botswana.
The first leg tie at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in the city was a 1-1 stalemate as such, people are eager to see how far the country’s giant teams will parade in the upcoming CAF CL chapter.
