CAFCL: Zinnbauer labels JS Kabylie outsiders with experience

JS Kabylie head coach Josef Zinnbauer has revealed their readiness to take on their opponents during the group stages of the CAF Champions League.

The Algerian side has been drawn in Group B against record 12-time winners Al Ahly of Egypt, AS FAR of Morocco, and Young Africans of Tanzania.

Al Ahly are the top favourites

“I think we’ve landed in one of the most difficult groups – the opponents are big, big teams,” Zinnbauer said as quoted by CAFOnline.com, adding that in this competition “every club in the Champions League is a big club.”

He added: “Al Ahly are the top favourites, we all know that. AS FAR and Young Africans are among Africa’s big teams – and they have big budgets.”

Zinnbauer continued: “You can’t buy this kind of experience. We’ve worked a lot to build on the experience we do have, and the club is here on merit. That perspective fuels a low-pressure mindset. We go into this with a good feeling and without pressure.

“Maybe we’re not the favourites in this group – maybe even the last in the pecking order when you compare recent years, because the others have been in the Champions League regularly. We haven’t.”

He concluded: “We’re happy to be back in the Champions League. It’s a difficult league, but testing ourselves against different, top-level opposition is exactly why we’re here.”

The two-time African champions, last reached the Champions League final in 1996 but remains a club with deep continental heritage and one of North Africa’s most fervent fan bases.

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