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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 April 1999 Issue No. 423 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 April 1999 Issue No. 423
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Interview Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Successful take-off
By Nashwa Abdel-TawabSoccer teams Ahli and Misri got by their first-round opponents in the African Champions League and the African Cup Winners Cup, respectively, in decidedly differing circumstances. Ahli defeated Maji Maji in Cairo 2-0 after having thrashed the Tanzanian club 3-0 in Tanzania two weeks earlier. Misri found the going much harder, scraping by Al-Merreikh of Sudan on penalties in Omdurman after eking out a 1-0 victory in Port Said.
Veteran Egyptian star Hossam Hassan's header in the 81st minute and a close-range left-footed shot by newcomer Mohamed Goda sealed Maji Maji's fate in a 5-0 aggregate result that was, for all intents and purposes, a foregone conclusion. Ahli had sounded an early warning to their rivals with a 3-0 drubbing of Maji Maji in their first leg match in Tanzania after Hassan scored a hat-trick in the 23, 52 and 86 minutes. The second-leg match will be remembered mainly for a spat, seen live on television, involving Hossam's twin brother Ibrahim who was substituted by Ahli's German coach Rayner Tsobil after objecting to a remark Tsobil had made. Later the club announced that Ibrahim had been fined for dissent.
"I was astonished to see the weak standard of the Tanzanian team," Tsobil said, even though the club managed to play better in Egypt. Maji Maji's coach Abbas Coca had announced earlier that the team might not play the second match at all due ostensibly to financial reasons. However, following the threat of penalties that would have been imposed on them by the African Football Federation (CAF) in case of default, Maji Maji showed up in Cairo on the eve of the match. Ahli will now meet Rayon Sport of Rwanda in May in their next clash.
In the Cup Winners Cup, Misri's ride to the second round was hardly as comfortable. After edging Al-Merreikh in Egypt 1-0, the Port Said team conceded a last-gasp goal in the second leg match in Sudan, forcing the game into penalties. Misri won the shoot-out 4-3 after two of Al-Merreikh's key players, Essam Julliet and Faisal Agab, had their shots saved. Coincidentally, both players have been the object of negotiations with Egypt's Zamalek club.
Misri coach Mohsen Saleh had predicted before the match that the game might go to penalties and had his club train specifically on the spot kicks. "I'd like to congratulate Hassan Nasr, (Misri's goalkeeper) for saving two penalty kicks from two important players. It's quite an achievement," Saleh said. Misri will now meet Asante Kotoko of Ghana in May in a second round clash.
