African Stars ready to face Orlando Pirates without fear, says coach Gerald Guther

African Stars head coach Gerald Guther says his players will not be intimidated when they face Orlando Pirates in Friday night’s CAF Champions League clash at Orlando Stadium.

The Namibian champions arrive in Soweto trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg, but Guther believes his side’s preparations have given them a realistic chance of producing a positive result against the Buccaneers.

Guther, who has been in charge of African Stars for less than a month, said his players were looking forward to playing in front of a large home crowd and urged them to respect Orlando Pirates without being overawed by the occasion.

“I think it will be a great moment for everyone, and I think, like my captain said, the guys are going to be hyped for the situation, the Friday night lights. We’re looking forward to it,” he said.

“I don’t think there needs to be mental preparation. The guys know what kind of atmosphere is here in this particular stadium and for that they’re prepared.”

African Stars’ performance in the first leg earned praise because the Namibian Premier League has not yet started, leaving them short of competitive match practice.

Guther said that lack of activity should not affect his players’ approach in the second leg.

“We have to come in here with confidence. We can’t walk in here and be intimidated by the opponents. We do respect them 100%, but we can’t show any type of fear – they are an extremely well-organised and trained team,” he added.

“We trained very hard and worked a lot on our play, how we’ll set up, so I do fancy our chances. We just have to come out here and leave everything on the field.”

Ketjijere draws on previous Orlando experience

African Stars captain Ronald Ketjijere believes his team-mates have the experience required to cope with the pressure of facing Orlando Pirates at their home ground.

Ketjijere played against the Buccaneers at the same stage of the competition in 2019, when African Stars held them to a draw at Orlando Stadium. He said that encounter had provided him with a clear idea of what to expect on Friday.

“Obviously, we’re aware it won’t be easy, and myself, I played here against Orlando Pirates in 2019, the very same stage, and we managed to get a draw against Pirates here,” he said.

“That time Happy Jele was captain, Justin Shonga was here.”

The 38-year-old also spent four years playing in South Africa with the University of Pretoria between 2012 and 2016 before returning to African Stars in Namibia.

Ketjijere added that the squad included players who had already experienced international football and high-pressure matches.

“So it’s not the first time coming into a situation like this. We also previously had youngsters, in terms of their age, not experience. Some of them are national team players as well. They know the pressure of playing in games like [Pirates].”