We have arrived at the CAF Champions League quarterfinals and that means Ej is previewing the remaining 8 clubs in this year’s competition. The race for the 2022 CAF L title is wide open this time around and Ej might be offering quite a surprise with his prediction to win this year’s tournament in Africa.
So, when the shit goes down, you better be ready! That’s right, I said that because it is that time again! Ej presents another preview of the CAF Champions League Quarterfinals which I have been doing for a handful of years now. That also means there will be a prediction towards who will be hoisting the hardware so let’s go down memory lane first.
Oh, the glory days when I called for mighty Esperance to win their third and fourth CAFCL trophies and the goodness that came to my life from it. I know you can recall when the Esperance Nation came together to send me a customized #10 Ege Jersey which can all be found on my YouTube channel.
I predicted that Esperance would win the 2018 and 2019 versions of the dance and they did just that. What it also did was bond me with a massive community of Esperance fans and faithful that I am still constantly interacting with today. I never thought I would be able to say I have friends in Africa’s northern tip of the continent but that is what has happened as a result of my writing about the beautiful game around the globe.
Anyway, we have arrived at the quarterfinals again and this is my usual spot to announce the final 8 clubs that will be vying for the 2022 CAF Champions League trophy. Oh, and Esperance is back again despite being without their star player who is still suspended until May 19. Taha Yassine Khenissi could essentially play in the final game should the Tunisian giants find their way back to the finals. As it stands, May 29 would be the date for the finals although we still await the announcement of which venue will play host to the title game.
So, let’s talk about how we got here and who is remaining in this year’s competition and I’ll get right back to Esperance here shortly.
First of all, the Mamelodi Sundowns are certainly the ones to watch entering the CAFCL Quarterfinals after smashing through the group stage. The South African club was one of two teams to go undefeated through the group stage and they were the first team to clinch their spot in the Elite 8 knockout round. With 16 points, the Sundowns took Group A in a foursome featuring defending Champions Al Ahly who ultimately needed to complete the last day of matches to secure 2nd place and advance to this stage of the event.
Also undefeated in the group stage are those aforementioned Tunisian giants Esperance, who secured the top spot of Group C with 14 points ahead of second-place Algerian side CR Belouizdad. Belouizdad and Esperance did battle on the final day of the group stage matches as the two had each already secured their bid to the knockout round but the top spot hung in the balance. Both clubs were undefeated and tied with 11 points until Esperance snatched a 2 – 1 home win earning them Group C 1st place entering the CAFCL QF.
Moroccan side Raja Casablanca took the top position in Group B with 12 points while ES Setif went through with them taking 9 points in the group stage. Raja has hoisted the trophy 3 times but has not accomplished the feat since the 1999 campaign. Setif last took the CAFCL hardware in 2014 with their only other tournament win coming in 1988.
Wydad AC will join fellow Moroccan side Raja Casablanca in the knockout round after taking the top spot in Group D. Wydad secured 15 points winning 5 of their group stage affairs including their final 4 matches while they and Atlético Petróleos de Luanda easily advanced out of Group D. 2020 runners-up Zamalek was part of that group but they were only able to secure 4 points and a third-place finish ahead of G.D. Sagrada Esperança. Sagrada was competing in only their third CAFCL but they did eventually make their debut in the group stage this season finishing with only 2 points from a pair of draws in Group D play.
The cream will rise to the top and one of these clubs is headed for a trophy presentation come May 29, 2022.
Mamelodi looks in mighty form coming into the knockout round of 8 and they did take the 2016 edition of the CAFCL. Wydad were victors in the 2017 version of the show before Esperance won their back-to-back titles in 2018 & 19.
Al Ahly is now the two-time defending champions but they didn’t exactly look convincing through the group stage having needed the final matchday result to advance with just a second-place spot. By the same token, only 2 clubs have won even half as many CAFCL titles as Al Ahly who lead all African clubs holding 10 tournament trophies.
Neither Zamalek nor Mazembe, who each have 5 CAFCL titles, will even be in contention to claim this year’s trophy. However, Esperance can make it a 3-way tie with the two clubs should they take their fifth tournament win in 2022.
Atlético Petróleos de Luanda (Petro Atletico) surrendered the most goals (8) of all remaining clubs in the competition and this is the farthest they have come in CAFCL play since reaching the semifinals in 2001. The club made it to the group stage a season ago but was unable to reach the knockout round of the tournament after a 10-year absence from the African football major event. Since their 2001 semifinal showing, Petro had failed to even reach the group stage in 5 straight Champions League tourney showings between the years 2002 to 2010. They are certainly the wild card of the 2022 CAFCL playing with nothing to lose but a chance of making more club history.
Esperance is almost always on my radar because of my affiliation with the club dynamic but I don’t do these articles just to hope and predict something in an article such as this. Sure, I am rooting for Esperance to win their league, their domestic cup, and the CAFCL because it is now in my Blood and Gold heart to feel that way. Can Esperance take this title? Would I rather have Khenissi in the lineup? Do you think so?!
Of course, that would make an actual prediction on the Tunisian giants to hoist the hardware again a little easier. I am dying to be the guy who calls for Esperance to win their 5th CAF Champions League title but unfortunately I don’t the club will even make it to the finals at all. As much as that pains me a little to say, I think the club that will win this year’s CAF Champions League will take out Esperance along the way.
Now that we know who is playing who in the quarterfinals, let’s break it down knowing that there will be two legs to this section of the tournament..
Al Ahly is going up against Raja Casablanca and the 2-time defending champs will be home for the first leg while playing in Morocco for the second leg.
Esperance drew ES Setif and their two-legged affair will end in Tunisia and the winners of both of those matchups will square off in the semifinals.
Mamelodi will travel to Angola to play Petro Atletico on their grounds before returning to South Africa for the return leg of their tie. That leaves CR Belouizdad and Wydad Casablanca who will start their clash in Algeria before making the trip to Morocco where Wydad will play host to the second leg of that tie.
The two clubs that advance from those pairings will meet in the semifinals and then we will get to the championship match. We still don’t know what city will play host to the finals but we’ll get there later.
So, who is it? Which club hoists the hardware? This might be one ballsy call from me but let me tell you who will win this year’s CAF CL title.
First, they won Group B and only allowed 2 goals in the process. Secondly, look at the two clubs that this club will have to get past to advance to the finals, to begin with… Ready for it?
RAJA CASABLANCA will be taking out the 2-time defending champions Al Ahly in the quarterfinals. I know, right?!
RAJA CASABLANCA will then likely be facing The Hope and Tunisian giants’ Esperance in the semifinals where they will… Get past them too, which means that the last two clubs that have won the last 4 combined Champions League title-winning clubs will each be eliminated in back-to-back stages of the event by the Moroccan side.
Here is the schedule from here on out and like I said we still don’t know which city will play host to the finals.
IMO, I think Raja will go on to face Mamelodi in the finals and that’s where the pressure will come. Mamelodi is one tough outfit and that will be an epic final where ever they end up playing the match this season.
So, you heard it here and that is my story and I am sticking to it! RAJA CASABLANCA will be title holders in 2022 and that’s the call! I will be giving out betting advice throughout the rest of the event until that final match comes, so be on the lookout for some Rainmaker guy who runs around the net making people money who follow him! I know!!
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