Alger’s Captain: Mazembe Does Not Scare Us

Action resumes in the Total CAF Champions League today with Algerian club MC Alger crossing daggers with five-time tournament winners TP Mazembe.

The first group game meeting between the two outfits in this edition, fifth-placed MC Alger in the Algerian top tier travels down to Lubumbashi for the first-leg.

But captain Abderahmane Hachoud says taking on group toppers Mazembe doesn’t scare them, insisting MC has experienced players to match up to the DR Congo giants.

“TP Mazembe is a very big club that holds the title in Africa. But this does not mean that this team must scare us. We, too, have experienced players who can make the difference. We have Demmou who has already won the Champions League with ESS and many other seasoned players. So we, too, have the arguments to counter TP Mazembe,” the 30-year-old says ahead of Tuesday’s thrilling meeting.

The 16-time DR Congo league winners finished second best to AS Vita Club in the Linafoot over the weekend and would be keen to make up for the loss of the domestic league title by clinching the African Cup.

However, for that to see light of day, The Ravens must ward off the visiting Algerians to begin with.

The North Africans are no minnows even though their biggest feat in the tourney in recent times is the group stage since winning the gong in the 1976.

The Algerian league is on a sabbatical after its conclusion on May 19^th this year that saw CS Constantine storming to the staked prize.

There, however, shouldn’t be fears over lack of competition giving The Deans have been warming up with games against French sides Clermont and Ligue 1 club Bordeaux ahead of today’s promising scintillating showdown.