Carats of luck.. Kaizer Chiefs' journey beyond expectations to compete for the African Championship

“A carat is luck, not a savvy acre.” This saying applies to the South African Kaizer Chiefs team, after qualifying for the final of the African Champions League by defeating Moroccan Wydad in the first leg and a negative tie in the semi-finals of the tournament, to set up a date with Al-Ahly in the final match that was decided It will be held on July 17 in the Moroccan capital, Casablanca.

Followers of the tournament did not imagine that the representative of South Africa would reach the final rounds, compete for the title and face the Al-Ahly team, the defending champion 9 times, before this edition of the tournament.

But how did Kaizer Chiefs reach the Champions League final, this is what the numbers answer in the following lines.

 

In the first round of the tournament, Kaizer Chiefs met with Bamenda of Cameroon, who won with a clean goal, then a 0-0 draw in the return match.

And the dreams of the South African team increased to reach advanced roles in the African Championship. In the group stage, its confrontations with Houria of Guinea began and a negative draw. In the second round of the group stage, Kaizer Chiefs met with Moroccan Wydad, who lost by four clean, then faced Petro Atletico of Angola and won with two goals without a response. , then tied 0-0 with the Angolan team in the next round.

Kaizer Chiefs continued their poor results in the group stage, where they met with Moroccan Wydad in the fifth round of the group stage, and won with a clean goal, then tied with Houria of Guinea with two goals each.

 The Kaizer Chiefs qualified for the quarter-finals of the African Champions League, after they finished runners-up in Group C with 9 points, a difference in direct confrontations from Houria of Guinea, who equaled the number of points, after the two teams tied in a negative first leg in South Africa.

With the qualification to the quarter-finals, the South African team's ambition increased, and it dreamed of reaching the semi-finals, despite its victory over Simba of Tanzania by four in the first leg, but it lost three goals away.

The Kaizer Chiefs' ambitions rose, as they beat Morocco's Wydad with a clean goal in the first leg of the semi-finals and a negative draw in the return, so that the team exploded the surprise and qualified for the final of the tournament and set a date with Al-Ahly in the final match scheduled for July 17.