Young Africans coach Marcio Maximo (left) and his Simba counterpart Patrick Phiri during a past match. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Matches involving the two outfits, whose rivalry is as old as the country’s football history, are usually a matter of wits, and today’s showdown is expected to follow that tradition.
Dar es Salaam. A mammoth crowd is expected at the National Stadium this afternoon when the country’s football heavyweights, Simba and Young Africans lock horns in a special derby.
Matches involving the two outfits, whose rivalry is as old as the country’s football history, are usually a matter of wits, and today’s showdown is expected to follow that tradition.
For the past two or so weeks, Yanga and Simba have been fine-tuning for the derby which has often been headlined the country’s version of the ‘El-Classico’. The clash dubbed Nani Mtani Jembe has deservedly dominated the discussions in the media and the sports fraternity.
For Yanga, a win could be a sweet revenge against the Msimbazi Reds who beat them 3-1 in last year’s Nani Mtani Jembe clash at the same venue.
And coach Marcio Maximo has warned Simba they will be facing “a very different Yanga” in today’s encounter. “We will be out for revenge after what happened at the National Stadium last year,” Maximo said yesterday.
“We will certainly be up against a strong team, but we are ready for the game. We will not afford another defeat this time around,” the Brazilian stressed.
His Simba counterpart Patrick Phiri said the Msimbazi Reds will feel like they have got a score to settle. “We know that we will be up against a very different Yanga to the one we beat last year. It’s going to be a great occasion,” the Zambian coach said. There will be a host of ‘new faces’ for both teams in today’s match. Ace striker Emmanuel Okwi, who featured for Yanga in last year’s encounter, will play for Simba.
The Ugandan forward scored a goal for Yanga in the match. It was, however, not enough to rescue the Jangwani Street team from the painful defeat.
Yanga will likely have on board three new players they signed recently. The new faces include Brazilian midfielder Emerson De Roque, Liberian striker Kpah Sean Sherman and former Police Morogoro forward Danny Mrwanda.
Renowned goalkeeper Juma Kaseja, who played for Yanga in last year’s game, has been ruled out of today’s encounter, according to Maximo.
Simba’s new signing Ugandan Danny Serunkuma is among strikers Yanga defenders must mark tightly if they are to avoid another humiliation.
They are also finalizing plans to sign defenders Juuko Murushid and Simon Serunkuma. The two players have been in Zanzibar with Simba since early this week.
