South African coach Fadlu Davids says reaching the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final with Simba has exceeded his expectations in his initial period with the club.

Davids joined the Tanzanian side during the off-season, and they have progressed to the semi-final of the CAF’s second-tier competition, with the decisive second leg taking place in his home country, South Africa.

This achievement comes despite the club releasing 15 to 17 players and signing 13 new players to rebuild the team before the former Maritzburg United coach’s arrival.

Simba is set to face the in-form Stellenbosch in the second leg of their semi-final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (15:00). Having won the first leg, they will aim to maintain their advantage and reach the final, a first for the club.

“I think Simba is a big club, a huge institution that should normally compete in the CAF Champions League,” Davids stated at the press conference on Saturday.

“We are in a rebuilding phase; the club released a significant number of players – 15 to 17 – and signed 13 players before my arrival.

“During the second week of pre-season, we identified two key positions needing reinforcement: a striker and a goalkeeper. I was responsible, along with our scouting team, for bringing in those two players. The profile and type of players we signed are on average 18 to 24 years old.

“It is a young team in the rebuilding phase of this project, and I believe we have exceeded expectations because it was likely the first time for me and most of our players to compete in a tournament like this, involving significant travel away from home.

“Our first away trip was against Al Ahli Tripoli, and I recalled playing against Al Ahli Tripoli [of Libya] for Orlando Pirates after defeating Simba in the quarter-finals of the Confed Cup [in the 2021/22 season]; we then played Al Ahli Tripoli in the semi-finals.

“So, nobody gave us much of a chance because we are a young and new team. When you look at last season’s starting line-up, only four players remain – the left-back, right-back, midfielder Fabrice Ngoma, and striker Denis Kibu. It’s essentially a brand new, young team with a new coaching staff.

“We have exceeded expectations, but as I said, with a young team and a big club coming together, there’s probably an expectation for us to go all the way. We are taking it one step at a time.”

Despite being new to Simba, Davids’ experience as co-coach of the Orlando Pirates side that reached the Confed Cup final in the 2021/22 season, ultimately losing on penalties to RS Berkane, has significantly contributed to Simba’s progress this far.

Furthermore, Davids highlighted that having his trusted technical team, comprising assistant coach Darian Wilken, goalkeeping coach Wayne Sandilands, fitness coach Riedoh Berdien, and analyst Mueez Kajee, has been another crucial factor in his smooth settling at Simba.

“I think that was key,” Davids quickly responded.

“Because with a new team and new players, we had three weeks in Egypt [for pre-season] to mold the team in terms of implementing our principles regarding playing style, our footballing philosophy, and the desired training intensity.

“If I had a completely new technical team, it would have taken me much longer to adjust. So, it was a seamless integration.

“Even with Raja Casablanca [as assistant coach to Josef Zinnbauer], we had the same technical team, the same core group with us there.

“So, it was just plug and play – and that played a very important role. Everyone talks about the head coach and the players, but the people behind the scenes, the technical team, have a huge role to play in the crucial details, such as periodization, goalkeeping coaching, analysis, and of course, my assistant Darian Wilken, who is one of the best football minds to emerge from the country, and I am confident he will become a top coach one day.”