Ethiopian side Wolaitta Dicha will be the first non-Addis Ababa team to play continental club football in 10 years when they tackle Zimamoto of Zanzibar on Sunday, February 11 at Aman Stadium. The Sodo based club traveled to Zanzibar at the early hours of Thursday morning to play in the CAF Total Confederations Cup preliminary round first leg.
Dicha stared off the league campaign in low after a series of unimpressive results saw them dangle in the relegation zone. The poor form coupled with fans displeasure induced the club to change the technical staff as long-term serving coach Mesaye Teferi left his post and Dicha’s U-17 trainer Zenebe Fisseha promoted to the first team. The move came in handy as Wolaitta Dicha went five games without a defeat and culminated when the team beat defending league champions Kidus Giorgis 2-1 courtesy brace from Bezabeh Meleyo.
Since Zenebe’s reign began in December 2017, Dicha won three league matches and draw twice in away games.
Coach Zenebe attributes the change in tactics and motivation of players for their recent resurgence. “When I took over the coaching job a month and half ago we were 16th in the log table. I have been following the team even when I was at junior side and I analyzed the players’ performances. I tried to make some changes as I wanted my players to work as a unit in harmony. I also tried to utilize their capability based on what they have got to offer. We also had some tactical changes,” said Zenebe.
The Ethiopian torch bearers in the completion are well aware of the threat Zimamoto possesses ahead of their first leg clash. “Zimamoto is also new to the tourney. Just like us they too lack international exposure. We were able to find some video footages and it seems they can be challenging physically. We are prepared for a win on their backyard and progress to the next round. Experience is a very key component of football. Our players apart from Arafat Djako are inexperienced when it comes to this sort of tournament but the motivation is there and we hope to get a positive result in Zanzibar.”
Wolaitta Dicha had a light training session at Aman Stadium on Friday afternoon. All players are in a good shape ahead of the duel as confirmed by the club.
