NKANA coach Masautso Mwale says Egyptian side Zamalek are beatable

NKANA coach Masautso Mwale says Egyptian side Zamalek are beatable and the Kitwe giants will prove it when the teams meet in the CAF Champions League second round clash.
Mwale said in an interview here on Saturday night that days when Zamalek were a class above Nkana are long gone.
Nkana beat Ugandan side Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) 4-3 on aggregate while Zamalek overcame Angolan outfit Kabuscorp 1-0 over two legs.
Nkana’s last meeting with Zamalek that had goalpoacher Hossam Hassan was in 2002 in the second round of the then African Club Championship (now CAF Champions League).
The teams drew 1-1 in Kitwe by the Arabs won 2-0 in Cairo to progress 3-1 on aggregate.
But Mwale is confident that Nkana will this time go past Zamalek.
He said he has an idea of the type of game Zamalek play.
“It will be an interesting game. They [Zamalek] play with a lot of spaces,” Mwale said.
Nkana will host Zamalek tutored by former Egypt striker Ahmed ‘Mido’ Hossam next Saturday and the return leg is set for March 29.
Mwale said his charges are beginning to believe in themselves that they could conquer Africa.
The 2013 Zambian-coach-of-the-year said Nkana are in the competition to compete.
Mwale said Nkana have shown that they are a strong team by beating KCCA in Uganda.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Nkana fans yesterday thronged Ndola’s Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport to welcome their heroes.
The fans clad in Nkana colours chanted club songs outside the tiny airport’s terminal.
Nkana skipper Sydney Kalume said they will prepare adequately for the clash against one of the continent’s established clubs, Zamalek.
“Football is the same. Playing Zamalek is just like playing the Ugandan team we just played. We just have to prepare well and perform well in the competition,” Kalume said.
Football Association of Zambia executive committee member Lee Kawanu, who was delegation leader, said Nkana and Zesco United’s qualification to the next round of the continental club championships is a sign of the improvement of the game in the country.
“It speaks volumes that both teams have gone through to the next round. It also shows the strength of our league. As FAZ, things are getting better,” he said.
Kawanu said Zamalek are not a threat as they were decades back and could be tamed by Nkana, who have shown character in recent matches on the continent.