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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 Sep. - 6 Oct. 1999 Issue No. 449 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 Sep. - 6 Oct. 1999 Issue No. 449
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Ahli don't gel
By Abeer Anwar
Ahli's Hadi Khashaba (right) hindered by Bahrain's Al-Refaa's defense
photo: Mohamed Mossaad
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters In the wake of two consecutive losses in the African Champions League, Ahli's attempts to reconcile their fans in the Arab Champions Cup did not go according to script as the Egyptian club drew in its opening match.
Much to the dismay of its increasingly worried fans, whose sparsity in Cairo Stadium was glaring, Ahli drew 1-1 with the relatively weaker Al-Refaa of Bahrain, a team which had never before even entered the competition which Ahli won in 1996. Ahli's German manager Reiner Tsobil attributed the draw to inexperienced players who have been forced to quickly fill the shoes of their more illustrious teammates, many of whom have left the club for the greener fields of Europe. There has also been the injury to star striker Hossam Hassan which Tsobil was quick to point out.
"I am currently depending on a number of junior players who have little experience, so we have to back this team and give it self-confidence until they gel and gain some experience," Tsobil said. "All what I need is some patience because this is a transitional period after which the team will return to its old style and standing."
Tsobil's optimism seemed scant relief for Ahli fans, whose patience has been running thin, having seen the club go down to Morocco's Al-Ragaa 1-0 in Cairo and Ghana's Hearts of Oak 2-1 in Ghana. The defeats have left the early favourites almost out of contention in the African tournament even though three games remain.
The Arab Champions Cup was supposed to have put Ahli back on track but such plans have gone awry. Algeria's Wadad Telmsan entered the event the title holders after beating Saudi Arabia's Al-Shabab two years ago. Revenge was sweet for Al-Shabab, winner of the 1993 championship, when it crushed Telmsan 5-0 last week. The Saudis then edged Wahdat of Jordan 1-0 to take the lead in their group and qualify for the semi-finals. Telmsan regrouped to beat Al-Salamia of Kuwait 2-1 and revive hopes of reaching the second round.
"We taught Telmsan a lesson," crowed Carlos Roberto, the Brazilian manager of Al-Shabab. "We have also sent a message to all the other teams that we are coming with one aim: to win the cup and nothing else." Regaa Asenon, Telmsan head coach, said later the team sorely missed the services of its best attacker Herby Kamal but, nevertheless, was all praise for his conquerors. "Al-Shabab was more organised and they dominated throughout the match."
In one of the upsets of the championship thus far, Al-Salamia beat Wahdat 1-0, scoring the sole goal in the 36th minute. In the same group, Al-Geish of Syria beat Tunisia's Olympi 2-0 to lead Group II.
The Arab Winners Cup was renamed the Faisal Championship in tribute to Saudi Prince Faisal Bin Fahd, head of the Arab Football Federation, who died last month. It was Prince Faisal's idea to set up the championship, now in its 15th year.
Both Cairo Stadium and the Arab Contractors are playing host to the eight-day event which ends 2 October. The opening ceremony was held up for two days since Al-Refaa was taking part in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup Winners Cup. Hosts Ahli qualified automatically but, judging by its performances thus far, reaching the latter stages will be anything but automatic.
