AfricaPress-Tanzania: SIMBA SC Head Coach Sven Vandenbroeck said he hopes that there will be one more Dar es Salaam derby match in the Azam Sports Federation Cup (ASFC) before the season ends.
Both Simba and their traditional rivals Young Africans cruised into the quarterfinals of the ASFC and there is a big possibility that the two sides might meet somewhere in the contest to renew their Mainland Premier League rivalry.
Simba who look certain to win the season’s championship, are desperate to revenge on Yanga after failing to beat them this season as the first match ended 2-2 before losing 1-0 in the second meeting of the top flight league.
But, speaking recently in Dar es Salaam, the Belgian national insisted that he hopes the two oldest teams in the country will meet again probably in the ASFC finals to make it exceptional.
“Everybody knows our results from the two games we met as such, we might meet again perhaps in the ASFC finals to make it a big finale for the football loving people in the country and maybe we can beat them in the finals,” he said.
Commenting on the past two traditional derby games played this season; Vandenbroeck said he has learnt two things from them revealing that his side is more tactical while Yanga play much physical game and power on the pitch.
“Derbies are always tense wherever you go and the atmosphere was great but the two teams differ in game approach whereby Simba are more tactical against Yanga who are more physical,” he disclosed.
He then pointed out that Mapinduzi Cup which was played in Zanzibar in January this year was useful to him as he was able to see the potential of some players in his squad who by then did not have time to asses them.
“For me, Mapinduzi Cup was not very important. I know that people from outside saw it differently but when I came here in December, half of the squad was in CECAFA tournament as such, I was compelled to use the Mapinduzi Cup to give chance to other players of the team that is why we rotated a lot,” he narrated.
He added that in the finals, Mtibwa Sugar were much motivated to play against Simba that is why they went on to win the trophy despite his team dominating the big portion of the encounter while praising Mtibwa Sugar defence.
Furthermore, the Belgian revealed that after losing to JKT Tanzania in the league match, they screened up the entire squad and filtered it to get the basic eleven which he said has been improving game after game until now.
“In my opinion, I think we have got the basic squad which is doing well even though we still have some problems in defence and midfield hence we still have some things to modify.
“We must get the balance between attacking and defending since we will face stronger opponents especially if we will play in the CAF Champions League (CAF CL),” he said.
Simba lead the Mainland Premier League table with 71 points from 28 games and sit 16 points clear at the summit of the table as the league nears its finishing line.
