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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Four in a row
By Abeer Anwar
Ahli beat Zamalek for the league volleyball crown, its fourth in a row. Zamalek won the first set, lost the second and third, won the fourth and fell completely apart in the decisive fifth to give Ahli a 3-2 victory and the title.
Zamalek's human wall rises to the occasion
photo: Khaled El-Fiqi
The victory put Ahli atop the league standings with 51 points, followed by Zamalek's 49 points and Tersana with 47.
Much like their famous football rivalry, the volleyball final at Ahli was a tense affair in which frayed nerves led to a below-par effort on both sides of the net. Individual talents, rather than team play, was the order of the day. Zamalek depended mainly on Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz and Emad Nasr while Ahli looked to a newcomer, Mohamed El-Husseini and the experienced Ayman Rushdi for inspiration. Following the match, Rushdi travelled to Germany where he will undergo knee surgery.
"I am very happy the team was able to retain the title after a long journey," Ibrahim Fakhreddin, Ahli's coach, said. "I am also happy to leave the team on a winning note." Fakhreddin is being promoted, taking over Egypt's national team during the Sydney Olympics.
Ahli reigned supreme in this 1999-2000 season, losing but one game, 3-1 to Shams, on its run to the title. Ten days earlier when Ahli and Zamalek met on Zamalek's home court, the scenario was almost identical with that of the final; the result was exactly the same.
"I don't know what happened," said a bewildered Zamalek coach Mohamed El-Lakani. "The team was leading then lost the entire match."
Adding insult to injury, all junior Zamalek teams under 15, 17 and 19 lost the final matches of their respective championships to Ahli.
As for the national team and its preparations for Sydney, Fakhreddin has chosen 19 players, including seven from Ahli and four from Zamalek. The team will play between 10 and 12 friendly matches that will start in May, along with two training sessions in Portugal and the Czech Republic.
