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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Towards another crowning
It took just one shot for Ahli to continue its inexorable run to its seventh consecutive league football title. Mohamed Farouk's low blast in the 33rd minute against Canal secured for Ahli three points in a vital away win that kept the league leaders a full 10 points ahead of second-place Zamalek which edged Ismaili 1-0. The win gave Ahli 40 points and, with more than half of this Click-GSM-sponsored season played, the red shirts are sitting pretty.
Farouk's game-winning goal followed a brilliant pass by Isaac Awal, a Nigerian import, which left Farouk all alone with nobody to beat save the keeper. By and large, Ahli's players had the upper hand in the first half and would have added to the score sheet had they seized several opportunities which came their way. However, the situation changed totally in the second half, during which Canal mounted vigorous attacks only to be denied by Ahli's solid defence.
"I'm glad we got the three points," Reiner Tsobil, Ahli's German coach, said after the match. However, Tsobil was less than enthusiastic over the performance in the second half, putting the blame on what he said were his over-confident junior players. "Our youngsters believe they have become superstars and thought the match was sewn up even before it began."
On the same day, Zamalek plodded through its match with Ismaili in Cairo Stadium, the proof of its travail the fact that a defender, Medhat Abdel-Hadi, was the lone scorer. The fifth-minute header gave Ismaili loads of time to equalise, which it couldn't, less because of their limited abilities than to brilliant Zamalek defending.
Still, the three points made coach Otto Pfister one very happy German. "I am only concerned with collecting points at the present time," Pfister later said. He did not rule out miracles, in pointed reference to his team's chances of winning the league title which has eluded them since the 1992-1993 season. He reminded reporters that when he took over, Ahli was ahead by 13 points. "But now it's only 10 points and Ahli has several difficult matches away from home in the second leg," Pfister added. The point gap Pfister was referring to decreased following Zamalek's win over Ahli, Pfister's first game as Zamalek's coach.
In other scores, Misri broke an 18-match winless streak in style by blowing Suez away 4-1 and in Suez no less. During the losing stretch, Misri made six coaching changes. Just prior to the Suez match, Zalatko of Croatia was the latest victim, replaced by local journeyman Mohamed Ali.
Other matches in the same week saw Ittihad of Alexandria jump to third place with 24 points after scraping by Aluminium 1-0. Mansoura and Dina defeated Sharqiya and Arab Contractors 2-1 respectively while Maadin edged Kouroum 1-0.
League matches were relaunched last week following a 104-day break while the African Cup of Nations and qualifying games for the Sydney Olympics were being played. While the local league is notorious for its annual periods of inaction, this spell was inordinately long. While the lay-off proved frustrating for players, coaches and fans -- the last match in the first leg was played on 25 December -- it also produced its share of anger because the break failed to accomplish what it was designed for. Egypt failed to defend its title in the African championship and missed out on the Summer Games.
The deep freeze also left most players trying to thaw out. Last week's matches, for instance, witnessed a series of lacklustre performances with Ahli and Dina playing to a scoreless draw in Cairo Stadium, a result that Zamalek could not take advantage of after drawing 0-0 with the Arab Contractors. Other results included Kouroum repeating what it had done in the first leg, beating Ismaili 1-0, but this time in Ismailia in one of the biggest upsets of the season. Mansoura snatched a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Misri, Maadin thrashed Suez 2-0, while Ittihad and Canal played to a scoreless draw in Alexandria.
