Confederation of African Football (Giza)
The thirst for a second title when Maghrebian duo, Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco and Tunisia’s Esperance face off in the first leg final of the 2011 Orange CAF Champions League at the Mohamed V Stadium in Stadium in Casablanca.
The two teams have annexed Africa’s most sought after club competition once; Wydad in 1992 and Esperance two years later and there can be no better a moment for the second title than now.
The first leg will serve the third meeting between the two sides after the group phase. The encounter does not only rekindle the dominance of North African side the continental club championships but also rekindles the age-long rivalry between Morocco and Tunisia as far as the globular leather is concerned.
It serves a miniature of the 2004 final of the Africa Cup of Nations, which Tunisia won and a repeat of the 1999 final of the CAF Champions League between Wydad’s city rivals, Raja Athletic Club and Esperance, which the Moroccans went on to win 4-3 on penalties
Despite winning the title once, Esperance have made the mark having the better of the two sides regarding experience in the competition. It will be the fifth time in 17-years that the “Blood and Gold” will be making a final appearance against one in the entire history of Wydad – 1992, when they won the title.