Asante Kotoko head coach Karim Zito has praised the style of play South Africa clubs.
Zito made the comments after he guided his side to win the Toyota Cup against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“I have to be honest, seriously, South Africans play like Europeans, not like the other countries [in Africa]; they don’t chase you, they let you chase them. I know it because I studied this when I went to Europe. I’m in development, professionally,” Zito told SABC Sports.
“So Chiefs didn’t play badly, but the luck was on our side… At the end of the day, the element of luck wasn’t there for them; we were lucky to win. But everyone wants to be lucky—I’m very happy, because tactically we worked on our plan and it worked,” he added.
The tactician also revealed what influenced the tactics that he deployed against Chiefs.
“When it comes to winning, at the end of the day, I’m satisfied with my boys – but tactically, I’m also satisfied, because I know this process; with the new players, I didn’t get what I wanted, but at least certain responsibilities [they got right],” Zito explained.
“I was looking at it for them to do it, and at the end of the day, I knew we’d win by one or it would go to a draw. We didn’t attack too much, but defensively, we were ready. I don’t have to match them; they were ahead in terms of preparation [in pre-season]. In terms of cohesion, they are ahead of us,” he added.
“We didn’t train for three days, so we knew we’d get tired, so we sat back – that’s what makes you a good coach; you read the opponent and try to come up with a strategy that will suit your team.”
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