Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has painted a picture of what their CAF Confederation Cup campaign means for the club this season.
Stellies will make their debut in African football when they visit Nsingizini Hotspurs in the first preliminary round at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (3pm start).
The Cape Winelands-based side qualified for the continental showpiece after an impressive campaign last season when they finished third on the log.
And while some deemed that as a run of good fortune, thanks to the individual brilliance of players such as Iqraam Rayners, Stellies started this season’s MTN8 campaign on a high as they came from behind to beat TS Galaxy 3-1 in the quarter-final to book a date with Mamelodi Sundowns in the two-legged semi-final.
Barker, though, is not thinking about the match against the SA champions.
Instead, he’s eagerly waiting for their debut on the continent against Hotspurs.
“We are extremely excited,” said Barker, in a clip on the club’s social media platforms after a training session this week.
“It’s not only me personally that is excited, but the whole football club – the players and everyone that’s involved.
“We want to compete on the continent and expose ourselves to different teams. So, we worked hard to get ourselves into this position.
“We had always wanted to play on the continent, so that has arrived, and there’s a lot of excitement and buzz around the club.”
The Maroons are expected to be ready for the competition, having also asked for lessons from Sundowns, who are regulars in continental football.
And sure, there’s excitement around the club lately, but the outgoing Rayners has hogged the headlines for the wrong reasons as well.
The Sundowns-bound striker was reportedly involved in a fight at a nightclub in Stellenbosch recently.
However, Stellies are not focusing on the Rayners issue, as they try to create more good memories in Durban.
Rewinding to last season, it was at the same Moses Mabhida Stadium where Stellies won their first trophy in top-flight football after beating Galaxy in the Carling Knockout final.
“We are looking forward to that first game,” Barker said. “It’s nice that we are playing at Moses – we know Durban and the stadium well.
“So in a sense, that helps, but we know that the opposition will work hard, and they’ll have the same sentiments that we have.”
Settling in nicely 😃 pic.twitter.com/Lk2q3SVsqf
Barker is right. Hotspurs might be underdogs to win the two-legged affair, but they’ll pose a serious threat to Stellenbosch.
Barker has analysed Hotspurs well, though, and feels they’ll have their job cut out for them, given the advantages that the Eswatini-based outfit have.
“They seem to be a team that wants to do well. They have played at Moses. They are serious, especially given the way that they played last season,” Barker said.
“They are not an easy team to beat. But yeah, we got footage of the way they played. But it’s not easy when you don’t see them play regularly.
“So, it’s going to be more about us using our game plan and executing it very well. We need to use most parts of the match to see what they are all about.”