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The Orange Club boss shares his thoughts on taking on the Porcupine Warriors in continental action.
Nouadhibou head coach Mauril Njoya has revealed that his initial reaction to drawing Ghanaian giant Asante Kotoko in the Caf Champions League was scary.
The Mauritanian club will face the 1983 champion in the preliminary round of the continental competition for a place in the first round.
The draw for the championship qualifying phase was held in Egypt on Monday.
“I will be very happy to welcome Asante Kotoko to Mauritania. I love Ghana very much even though I have not been there before,” Njoya told Ashh FM.
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“When I received the information that we are playing Asante Kotoko, my [feeling] it was in two phases.
“First, I was scared to meet Asante Kotoko and, second, I was very happy to come to Ghana for the first time.
“I’m not saying I’m afraid [and that] I can’t beat Asante Kotoko, but I respect them because they are one of the best teams in Africa and they perform very well every season.
“There is absolutely no pressure on us because we are a 20 year old club with a lot of experience.”
Nouadhibou is the Mauritania Ligue 1 Cup champion, his eighth time winning the national league.
The Orange Club will host Kotoko for the first leg on 27-29 November, a week before traveling to Ghana for the reverse tie.
The total winners will face the final winners of the match between Al Hilal Club of Sudan and the Ugandan team Vipers in December and January.
Kotoko, for her part, has set her sights on beating the Mauritanian team on the ticket for the first qualifying round.
Last season, the Porcupine Warriors participated in the Champions League, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Tunisian Etoile du Sahel.
They have not reached the group stage of the competition since 2006, two years after reaching the final of the Caf Confederation Cup.
The first of their two Champions League titles came in 1970 when they beat Congolese team TP Englebert to lift the cup.
Kotoko is the most successful club in Ghana’s Premier League history, having won 23 titles.
