KAIZER Chiefs striker Leonardo Castro believes they will have to work extra hard if they are to get anything from their Caf Champions League opener against Guinean outfit Horoya Athletic Club.
The Glamour Boys will finally get their Champions League group stages underway when they welcome Horoya at FNB Stadium on Tuesday (6 pm).
They have had to wait to resume action in the competition after their first group match was postponed as they could not travel to Morocco for a clash against Wydad Athletic Club.
Nevertheless, they are now ready to resume action against Horoya.
“We are just recovering from the game on Saturday and then will have to see how we approach the game on Tuesday because we all know how tough the Champions League is,” said Castro.
Chiefs have had their struggles domestically but Castro believes they can continue to get joy in continental football.
The Soweto giants were able to secure a spot in the group stages of the Champions League despite their early-season domestic struggles which saw them booted out of the MTN 8.
They then went on a horrendous run in the league.
“We need to work hard if we want to get the result,” insists Castro, who has a lot of experience in this competition with Mamelodi Sundowns.
“It won’t be an easy game. We need to be clever and play with responsibility. We also have to minimize mistakes, if we score first then we will get the three points.
“It’s important to start well and make our home games count. It will make things easy when we go away, we know how tough it is away.
“Caf is different from the league because you come against teams with different structure and obviously, we all know how the North Africans are. They are big, strong and tall.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how we can deal with them during this competition. I have friends who have played against our opponents (Horoya). They have told me to ensure we make it count at home because they will make it tough for us away from home.”
