CAF Champions League quarter finals: where religion meets football
CAF Champions League quarter finals concluded yesterday As Orlando Pirates joined Mamelodi Sundowns, Pyramids and Al Ahly in the semi finals
The CAF Champions League Quarter Finals did not deliver the most exciting football on the pitch. In the four games over the last two days, just three goals were scored.
But where the football on the pitch was cagey and defensive, the scenes off it were anything but.
Espérance Tunis hosted Mamelodi Sundowns needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit. Having clashed with Sundowns fans in the stadium in the first leg, we expected something big from the world famous ultras of Taraji, and needless to say, they delivered.
As the players took to the pitch, an enormous tifo was unveiled. The image depicted a generic Sundowns player being grabbed by some creature wearing an Espérance kit, astride a pile of skulls. On the banners to the sides, read the message “Tokoloshe Hunts..!”
The Tokoloshe is a mythological creature from Southern Africa. A small goblinesque creature that sneaks around in the night and murders unprotected children and others, particularly those who sleep on the floor. As one South African put it to me, “it’s pretty much a South African leprechaun.”
It is often summoned by a witch doctor, at the behest of a client who is seeking to harm someone. In exchange, usually the client must pay a life for a life and sacrifice the soul of a loved one.
It was a truly menacing atmosphere for the Sundowns players, who overcame the cauldron that is the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi to hold out for the 0-0.
The Brazilians produced a mature performance, controlling the game both in and out of possession. They restricted their hosts to a handful of half chances while creating, a number themselves, most notably when Marcelo Allende smashed the crossbar from 25 yards.
Espérance could’ve been forgiven for thinking they’d finally broken through the stubborn Sundowns defence in the 71st minute when substitute Achref Jabri sprung the offside trap and clipped a lovely finish over a flapping Ronwen Williams.
But after a five minute VAR review, it was adjudged that Jabri was fractionally offside. As with many of the folktales around the Tokoloshe, it seemed that the monster did more harm to the ones who summoned it.
No one will be more pleased with the result than Miguel Cardoso. The Sundowns head coach was sacked as manager of Espérance just six months ago but returned to exact revenge on his former employers. One could even say he banished his demons.
A week earlier, Sundown’s South African rivals Orlando Pirates were deploying their own shenanigans on North African soil. Just before kick off against Mouloudia in Algiers, the Pirates players and staff were seen spreading sand in both goals and on the centre spot.
Fearing that the South Africans had employed some muthi, traditional medicine that blurs the line between nature and the spiritual world in South Africa, the 60,000 plus fans in the Stade du 5 Juillet began chanting, “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) to combat any spiritual power called upon by the visitors. The chants were followed by someone fetching holy water, that had likely had the Quran recited over it, to cleanse the ground where the soil was spread.
Once again, whether aided by the supernatural or not, the South Africans came out on top over their Maghrebi rivals.
After taking a narrow lead back to Soweto, the Buccaneers held out for a 0-0 draw at home. With a combined xG of just 0.74, Pirates completely choked out their Algerian visitors who only could conjure up a late penalty claim and a Abdelkader Menezia header that was well saved by Sipho Chaine.
Following the final whistle, the Mouloudia players tried to confront Ivorian referee Ibrahim Traoré, which triggered clashes between players, coaching staff and fans.
The two Mzansi clubs are joined by their Egyptian counterparts who both got the job done on the Atlantic coast.
Al Ahly travelled to Nouakchott to take on Sudanese giants Al Hilal, playing away from home in Mauritania.
Ahead of kick off, Abdelaziz Bou Gorbal, president of Mauritania’s most successful club, FC Nouadhibou appealed to fans to come out in numbers to support their Sudanese neighbours as they sought to make history and overcome a 1-0 deficit. But for the fans who turned out, it was not to be.
Al Ahly showed the composure and experience that has won them four of the last five Champions League titles. The Red Devils held Al Hilal at arms length, happy to defend deep, cede possession and hit them on the break.
Just when Al Hilal were turning the screw late in the second half, the Egyptians hit them with the sucker punch. Taher Mohamed’s deft ball found Emam Ashour, who himself dinked a lovely finish over the onrushing Issa Fofana.
It’s the end of what was a truly special journey for Al Hilal who have provided us with one of the stories of the season in world football. After being homeless for over a year, they finally relocated more than 5,000 kilometres away from Omdurman.
Then, despite losing all their foreign players and not playing for over a year. Al Hilal bounced back and won a tough group, including last year’s semi finalists TP Mazembe. It was the first time they reached the knockouts of the Champions League in nine years and like the national team, they’ve brought some joy to a nation suffering.
For Al Ahly, they haven’t been at their rip roaring best. They are second in the Egyptian Premier League, out of the Egypt Cup (after pulling out of the previous edition) and came second behind Orlando Pirates in their group in the Champions League. But despite the set backs, they continue to grind out results when it maters in the Champions League and are no doubt, still the favourites to go on and win a fifth continental title in six years.
The team that is currently usurping Al Ahly in Egyptian Premier League title race join them in the semi finals as Pyramids overcame a resurgent ASFAR Rabat in Meknes to reach the semi finals in their debut season in the competition.
And unlike the other clubs left in the competition, Pyramids are doing it in style. They smashed their Moroccan counterparts 4-1 in the first leg but took a much more defensive approach in the second leg.
That approach did not really pay off as they fell to a brilliant early goal scored by Youssef El Fahli, who played a lovely one-two with Khalid Ait Ourkane before smashing home. In front of a raucous Moroccan crowd, equipped with pyros and flares, Pyramids struggled to keep things under wraps. They threatened often on the break, Fiston Mayele having a goal chalked off and coming close late in the second half, while also struggling to keep out the wave of ASFAR attacks.
Substitute Joel Beya grabbed the second ASFAR goal in the 82nd minute but Pyramids held out for a famous win that takes them to the semi finals where they will face Orlando Pirates.
We have little over a week for the semi finals, which both take place in South Africa next Friday. Whether or not any of the four left employ spirits or Tokoloshe, the spirits of African football are alive and well.