Cameroonian Laurent Djama, the head coach of Djibouti's AS Port, believes in the possibility of pulling off a surprise and defeating Al-Zamalek.
Al-Zamalek defeated their opponent, Djibouti's AS Port, 2-1 in the first leg of the preliminary round of the African Champions League.
Laurent Djama, the head coach of Djibouti's Port, said via Modern Channel: "The match against Al-Zamalek was not easy, especially since the draw placed us against a big team with a great history and extensive experience in the competition."
He emphasized, "We were not lucky in the draw to face a team of Al-Zamalek's stature, but the result was good in the first match despite the loss."
Regarding the second leg, he replied, "We are capable of scoring more than two goals, and football is full of surprises; anything can happen."
He added, "I believe in the possibility of pulling off a surprise, beating Al-Zamalek, and continuing our journey in the African Champions League."
Djama revealed, "We played a good match against Al-Zamalek in the second half, and we corrected many mistakes. We tried to minimize errors against Al-Zamalek, and I saw in the match that those mistakes cost us two goals."
He clarified, "The team was prepared in a very short period against a team of Al-Zamalek's size and capabilities, which has extensive experience in the competition."
He continued, "We hope to play better in the second match, not just in terms of the result, but also in terms of performance. First, we must identify the mistakes we made in the previous match and correct them, and then we can talk about the next match."
Regarding Al-Zamalek's weaknesses, he said: "I cannot speak about Al-Zamalek's weaknesses in the media before facing them again, but they are a big, well-rounded team with excellent players."
He emphasized, "Al-Zamalek has a very large fan base, and we must focus on delivering a good performance against them."
The head coach of Djibouti's Port concluded, "We came to Egypt to learn, and we succeeded in scoring a goal against Al-Zamalek. We are aiming for a surprise in the upcoming match."
Mohamed Shatta and Shiko Banzha scored Al-Zamalek's two goals, while Mehdi Hussein scored Port's goal.
This match is Al-Zamalek's first in the African Champions League since their last encounter against Sudan's Al-Merrikh in the 2023 edition.
The winner of the Al-Zamalek vs. Port tie will face the winner of the matches between Congo's Eagles and Rwanda's Army in the Round of 32.
