Darko Novic, the coach of Entente Setif, is hoping to use his prior African Champions League experience to pull off an upset against holders Al Ahly in the semi-finals.
When he was an assistant to Branko Smiljanic at Libyan side Al Ittihad in 2007, the 50-year-old Serb played the Egyptian heavyweights in the final four.
“It was a very good experience because I watched how Branko dealt with that match and how to prepare a strategy,” Novic told BBC Sport Africa.
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“I was in my first year in Libya and second year as a coach. After that, Al Ahly did a lot of good things and wrote history.”
Al Ahly won the two-legged tie 1-0 on aggregate, but lost the final to Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia.
The Cairo-based powerhouse, on the other hand, have won five more African Champions League titles since then, including the last two, making them the record 10-time winners.
“Of course, now is totally different match, with a totally different environment,” Novic added.
“I am very happy because I will face the biggest club and get more experience for myself.
“The level is so high, teams are very well prepared.”
Novic has coached and managed teams all over North Africa and the Middle East, including the Libyan national team and Al Madina in Tripoli, but he was thrust into the spotlight last weekend when he was named as the coach of Algerian side Setif for the second leg of their quarter-final against Tunisian side Esperance.
A goal by captain Abdelmoumene Djabou in the first half was enough to secure an away win and a 1-0 aggregate victory for Novic in his first match in charge.
“To win in Tunisia is not easy at all, because you have a high quality team in front of you,” he said.
“My problem was how to compete with them, and how to keep my players in high level of concentration and give them confidence.
“You need to concentrate, have a little bit of luck and keep compact in the whole match. At the end it was good for us, giving us the chance to play the next round.”