Dar es Salaam. Football fever is mounting high among Tanzanian soccer fans as the country’s football heavyweights Simba and Young Africans fine-tune for this weekend’s blockbuster showdown.
At exactly 4pm on Saturday, the 60,000-seater National Stadium will burst to life when the two teams, whose rivalry is as old as the country’s football history, clash in what is expected to be a charged Dar derby.
Yanga, who were on recess after booking a place in the first round of the CAF Champions League at the expense of Comoros’ Ngaya de Mbe, are expected to report at camp today.
Yanga secretary general Charles Boniface Mkwasa said yesterday that, after eliminating the Comoros team, they are now perfecting their tactics for Saturday’s match.
“Our players were on a oneday recess and they will report at camp tomorrow (today) ahead of Saturday’s match against Simba,” said Mkwasa.
However, the former national soccer team head declined to reveal where the Jangwani Street team would camp, saying it was confidential.
But sources within the team said George Lwandamina’s men would camp in Pemba, Zanzibar.
“Our target is to win the battle of the titans on Saturday and reclaim the league leadership,” said Mkwasahe.
While Yanga resume residential trainig today, their traditional foes have been in Zanzibar since last week.
The Msimbazi Reds left for Zanzibar on Friday, raring to turn tables on their rivals in the anxiously awaited clash.
For years, Simba and Yanga have been camping in Zanzibar ahead of the Derby.
Ahead of their past match, Simba opted to camp in Morogoro while Yanga were in Indian Isles.
The tensem encounter ended in a one-all draw.
Resurgent Simba at the summit of the topflight with 51 points, two ahead of Yanga.
This means the outcome of Saturday’s clash will give a clear picture of what to expect when the league comes to a close in April.
For three or so months the battle for the title and the jackpot that goes with it has been a two-horse race between the two outfits.
Third-placed Azam are 13 points adrift of league leaders Simba.
And they have vowed to go five points clear at the top of the league at the expense of the defending champions.
Matches between Yanga and Simba are always a matter of wits, and Saturday’s showdown is expected to follow that tradition.
While the two are title hopefuls, at other end of the table, three teams, including JKT Ruvu bank on miracles to avoid relegation.
Simba left for Zanzibar after beating African Lyon 1-0 in the Azam Sports Federation tournament. The hard-earned victory saw the Msimbazi Reds book a place in the quarter-finals of the , championship also known as the FA Cup. It was a sweet revenge for Simba against Lyon, who stunned them 1-0 in a league match last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment