Kenyan in the mix as Al Ahly clash with Kaizer Chiefs
Harambee Stars midfielder Anthony Akumu at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on November 14, 2020 ahead of team's departure to Moroni for their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group 'G' return leg qualifier against Comoros.
What you need to know:
- Akumu will feature for first-time finalists Kaizer Chiefs against nine-time winners Al Ahly in an interesting looking encounter. He will be the first Kenyan to play in a Champions League final.
Kenya international Anthony Akumu can’t wait to feature in the CAF Champions League final that will be held Saturday in Moroccan economic capital Casablanca.
Akumu will feature for first-time finalists Kaizer Chiefs against nine-time winners Al Ahly in an interesting looking encounter. He will be the first Kenyan to play in a Champions League final.
Speaking ahead of the much-anticipated clash, Akumu - who joined the club in January 2020 on a three-year-deal - said that he feels lucky to be in the final with the Chiefs.
“I am very happy to be a Kaizer Chiefs player, because not everyone gets to be where I am now. Many people have played football but their clubs have never qualified for the Caf Champions League or even in the final, so I am very happy and I thank God for that,” said Akumu.
The midfielder, whose last assignment with Harambee Stars was in March, when they drew 1-1 with Egypt in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, has mainly played as a enter-back for Chiefs.
Out of the six Champions’ League group stage matches, he featured for Chiefs in two – their 0-0 draw and 4-0 win over Horoya and Wydad respectively in the first leg encounters. His next appearance was in the second leg of the quarter-finals stage, where they lost 3-0 to Simba but progressed to the semis on a 4-3 aggregate.
He came on as a substitute in the first leg of the semi-finals against Wydad, which they won 1-0. Should Chiefs overpower Al Ahly in the finals, Akumu will become the first Kenyan to lift the Champions League trophy.
Can Chiefs do it? Many among the millions who support Egyptian and African giants Ahly believe the outcome is not in doubt at Stade Mohammed V, their only questions is the victory margin for the Mohamed el Shenawy-captained Cairo Red Devils.
Yet Chiefs were rank outsiders when the competition kicked off last November and the South African club have already defied massive odds to reach the final.
Although they are two of the biggest names in African football, the teams have met just once, with Ahly winning 4-1 in the one-off 2002 CAF Super Cup match in Cairo.
Ahly reached the 2021 final by winning eight matches, drawing three and losing just one, away to shock Group A winners Simba in Tanzania at the mini-league stage.
Winners of a record 21 CAF titles in four competitions, the Cairo club have scored 23 goals, including five from leading scorer Mohamed Sherif, and conceded just six en route to Casablanca.
They are guided by South African Pitso Mosimane, a childhood Chiefs' fan who will tie five-title Tunisian Faouzi Benzarti as the most successful African coaches in CAF club competitions if Ahly triumph.
He chooses his team from a mix of Egyptian, Tunisian, Malian and Nigerian stars and, since replacing Swiss Rene Weiler last September, has won 36 of 50 matches in all competitions, drawn 10 and lost four.
