Kaizer Chiefs center forward Lazalous Kambole has waited five years to get the chance of reaching the CAF Champions League semi-final again. The Zambian international is now eager and ready to get Chiefs past Wydad Casablanca, whom Amakhosi will face in the last four of the continental showpiece this weekend in Morocco in the first leg.

Kambole was a beaten semi-finalist in the 2016 CAF Champions League semi-final with his former club Zambian side Zesco United, as they went down 3-2 on aggregate to eventual winners Mamelodi Sundowns. His target now is to go one better with Chiefs and reach the finals.

“It’s going to be nice to go beyond the semi-finals,” intoned a confident Kambole before adding on “this has been my breach I lost in the semi-finals in 2016. So, here is another opportunity to go all the way to the final and win the competition”.

Kambole is an experienced campaigner in African club competitions as he also suffered another heartbreak in the latter stages of the CAF Confederations Cup in 2017.

He has reflected back and has offered some advice on what he believes will be key for Chiefs as they look to get to the final. “What I have learnt is that doing well away from home is important,” he says. “Now that we are starting away from home, we need a positive result. A win or a draw with goals will give us an advantage. Doing well in Morocco will mean that we are likely to progress.”

With experiences from his previous African outings, Kambole is determined to ensure that his team get to the final and that Chiefs head to the Northern reaches of the continent having done their homework on their opponents.

“Chiefs have both the will to succeed and the know-how on Wydad,” stresses Kambole. “We are hungry as a team and have done our homework, but we know it’s not going to be easy. We are playing against a very difficult side away from home, we know what to expect and we will strategise on how we can gain an advantage.”

On a personal note Kambole is now eager to get to Casablanca and have a go at the two-time African Champions, “I am confident and I feel great,” he says before going onto commit to the teams cause, “I am ready to give everything for the team and the badge. I just can’t wait to go there and fight and get a good result.

“Winning the African Champions League will be a great achievement for me. This is the league of Champions – if you want to be counted amongst the best, you must beat the champions. Chiefs is a big club and even in the CAF Champions League we are expected to win the trophy. That is pressure on its own we just have to go all out and win the competition.”