Raja Casablanca coach Juan Carlos Garrido said they had already wrapped up the Caf Confederation Cup title with the commanding 3-0 first leg victory at home.
Despite losing 3-1 in the return fixture away in Kinshasa on Sunday, Raja went on to record a 4-3 aggregate scoreline victory to lift their first trophy in Africa since 2003 when they won the then Caf Cup.
Prior to the second leg, Garrido was cautioning his charges not to get too comfortable because of the reverse leg win which he later on attributed to as key in their triumph.
“I'm very happy and I want to congratulate AS Vita for all their work,” Garrido said during the post-match conference on Sunday.
“I think the key to this triumph was in Casablanca during our home game where we took a big lead and surprised AS Vita.”
In securing this victory, Garrido became the first coach to win the Caf Confederation Cup with two different clubs after also bagging it with Al Ahly four seasons ago.
It was however, a contrasting tale for his opposite number Florent Ibenge, who had to endure another agonising moment after also losing the 2014 Caf Champions League final with AS Vita.
True to Garrido’s sentiments, Vita’s fate was sealed by the result in Casablanca and spirited attempts to claw their way into the contest came to naught.
Reaching the 74th minute leading 3-1 on Sunday, Vita fruitlessly toiled for the remaining 16 minutes as they searched for two more goals to claim victory, leaving Ibenge with regrets.
“Our victory was not enough. Congratulations to Raja Casablanca. We showed another face today. Regrets? Yes. It's football. Everybody is sad,” said Ibenge.
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