Stellies FC prepare for ‘one of biggest games in club’s history’

FOR Stellenbosch FC to have come as far as this so quickly is staggering.

- ZAAHIER ADAMS

Coach Steve Barker even felt the need to remind everyone that “We are here. It’s not an April Fool’s joke!”

It certainly is pinch me, wake up, everybody’s dreaming territory for the country’s footballing Cinderella as they head into a first-ever CAF Confederation Cup first-leg quarter-final tie against Egyptians giants Zamalek at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town today. The second leg will be held in Cairo on April 9.

“Playing on the continent, I think, is a different level. To be playing a team such as Zamalek who are the defending champions, who’ve won the Champions League five times, it becomes a massive game for us. I don’t think we’d be wrong in saying that this is one of the biggest games that the club is involved in.”

The contrast between the two clubs could not be any larger. Stellies have only been in South Africa’s top-flight for the past six years, with a solitary Carling Cup triumph on their honours roll, while Zamalek are one of the most storied clubs on the African continent.

The Egyptians’ pedigree is undoubted, being the current CAF Confederation Cup and CAF Super Cup holders, having lost just one of their last 21 Confederation Cup matches, and previously five-times CAF Champions League winners.