Orlando Pirates has stressed respect for Lioli FC, their opponents in the first leg of the CAF Champions League first preliminary round on Saturday.
The Buccaneers are aiming for another deep run in the competition this season after reaching the semifinals in the last campaign, where they were eliminated by Pyramids.
The Pirates’ Champions League campaign kicks off against the little-known side, Lioli, who are using Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein as their home venue since there are no FIFA-certified stadiums available in their home country of Lesotho.
Ouaddou says they are well-prepared for the match, noting that they’ve done their homework on their opponents.
He added that they are aware of both strengths and vulnerabilities of the Lesotho side.
“First of all, we can’t say it’s a team we don’t know and nobody knows it, I think it’s not good to say that,” said Ouaddou during the pre-match press conference.
“As long as the team qualifies for the Champions League and they won the league in their country, we have to give them a lot of respect. But for us, it’s an important game, very, very important game. We take it seriously and we are prepared for that.
“My boys, my players are aware of that, we take it very and strongly seriously. It’s a team that we have information of and we studied. We know their weaknesses and strengths and definitely, we are going to play that with a lot of ambitions.”
The return tie will be played on 27 September at Orlando Stadium with both sides eyeing the spot in the second preliminary round.
