unbeaten sides in the six-match group phase.
In the other half of the draw, the winner of the Al
Ahly-Sundowns tie meets either Wydad or Etoile Sahel.
Wydad were the side who walked off in last year’s
Final and were initially given the right to replay before
sanity prevailed. Yet they escaped a regulatory ban
from the competition for a two-year period and have
now made it to the last eight for a fifth successive year.
But this season has seen some turmoil at the club,
with two coaching changes already and Frenchman
Sebastien Desabre the latest incumbent. Etoile Sahel
fired their coach, Juan Carlos Garrido, despite winning
their group, thereby keeping up a long-standing habit
of overheated reaction to negative results as they
struggle in domestic competition.
There will be a new winner in the Confederation Cup
as none of the quarter-finalists have ever taken the
trophy before, although RS Berkane lost to Zamalek in
the Final last year on penalties.
Pyramids FC, with the backing of Saudi money, are a
new phenomenon in Egyptian football and favourites to
replace compatriots Zamalek as title holders.WORLD SERVICEDismantled...
Al Ahly (in red)
fell to Mamelodi
Sundowns last yearHolders...history
beckons for
Esperance