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| Frimpong confident of Sfaxien title win |
2/16/2007 |
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Striker Joetex Frimpong believes CS Sfaxien will lift the Champions League thanks to the morale gained by drawing the first leg 1-1 with Ahly in Egypt.
The Tunisians host the reigning African champions on Saturday, although the match will be played in the 60,000-seater Rades Stadium rather than their home town of Sfax.
The Ghana international knows what it takes to win the title as he is seeking a third Champions League success in four years, having triumphed with Nigeria''s Enyimba in 2003 and 2004.
"I believe we are going to win on Saturday because everybody is happy and when you are happy, you do something very good," Frimpong told BBC Sport.
"The result we got in Egypt is a morale booster and now we need to put in a bit more effort to win.
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"Everybody is determined because everyone knows the importance of the game: if you see the amount of effort the officials are putting in, you will see how serious we are."
CS Sfaxien coach Mrad Mahjoub was against the move to play the final at Rades, a decision taken because the capacity is five times greater than Sfax''s ground, but Frimpong is not too bothered.
Sfaxien fans are hoping for their first Champions League title
"Wherever you play, the only important thing is the effort you put in and how you prepare for the game," he explained.
"We went to Egypt which is not our home ground and we played a draw there so whether it''s Rades or Sfax, if we prepare fine I believe we will make it."
"It should be a fantastic atmosphere at Rades because the stadium is good and I believe all the Tunisian people will come and support us."
Sfaxien have never won the Champions League before but they have already beaten Ahly this season, winning 1-0 in Sfaxien in the group stages to end the Egyptians'' 54-match unbeaten run.
"When I came here, I saw the quality of our players and I believed we could not only reach the Champions League final but win the cup as well," added Frimpong, who joined the Sfax club at the start of the season.
Meanwhile, Sfaxien coach Mrad Mahjoub admitted he has one eye on representing Africa at December''s World Club Cup in Japan, which victory on Saturday will guarantee.
"It''s very important for us to be there but we are working step by step," he told BBC Sport.
"Actually, we''re not thinking about Japan just about this cup.
"But if we win the Champions League, we have time to think about Japan and if we do go there, we won''t be going only to participate but to do something."
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