28 Dec. 2000 - 3 Jan. 2001
Issue No.514
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 28 Dec. 2000 - 3 Jan. 2001 Issue No.514 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Dreamteam
Cairo club Ahli finished narrowly ahead of neighbours Zamalek after a poll of all past results of African football club competitions since they started in 1965.
Africa's best ever pose for the cameras. Goalkeeper Ahmed Shubair and El-Khatib, here scoring and being honoured, were mainstays of the dynasty
Points were awarded by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for success in the African Champions League, the African Cup Winners' Cup and the CAF Cup. Ahli's six continental titles gave it the edge over Zamalek, which won the Cup Winners' Cup final this month.
Ghana's Asante Kotoko and Canon Yaounde of Cameroon tied for third while newly-crowned African champions Hearts of Oak of Ghana came in sixth, one place below Esperance of Tunisia, the team they beat in the tempestuous final in Accra last week.
The top 10 feature only four clubs from North Africa despite the dominance that Arab-speaking teams have enjoyed in the three competitions over the past decade.
Ahli won its first continental title, the African Champions League, in 1982, followed by another in 1987. The club bagged the African Cup Winners' Cup four times -- 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1993.
Ahli leads all African teams in the number of matches won in continental championships -- 70 from 126 encounters. The stretch began with a 1-0 victory over Mouloudia of Algeria in Cairo in 1976 and ended with a 3-1 victory over Senegal's Jeanne d'Arc in Cairo this year. During its 24-year African history, Ahli collected 237 points from 70 wins and 27 draws. And the club tops the scoring list with 213 goals, an average of 1.9 goals per match.
Ahli's legendary Mahmoud El-Khatib, currently a member of the club's board, still leads all scorers in African club competitions, with 36 goals in nine tournaments, despite having retired in 1987. El-Khatib, a superstar in the seventies and eighties, was the first Ahli player to score in an African championship and scored a hat trick three times during his brilliant career.
To be sure, Ahli was more than a bit lucky to come away with the top billing on the continent. Zamalek's two Super Cups and one Afro-Asian Cup were not counted in the poll. And the number of participations in championships, not just how many are won outright, also weighed heavily in Ahli's favour. Lady luck pointed Ahli's direction in one more way: the club has not won a single African trophy since 1993. Other clubs failed to make up lost ground during this seven-year period which included a suspension meted out to Ahli and a consequent decision by the club not to participate in African tournaments once the ban expired.
To celebrate its century feat, Ahli plans an unforgettable day, as historic as the achievement itself. Some ideas bandied about include inviting Spanish club giants Real Madrid -- itself chosen the best club of the century -- to play Ahli. A four-team tournament that would include the best team of each continent is also being suggested, as is hosting legendary players Pele and Maradona, recently selected the best two players ever.
The top 10 African clubs of the century as selected by the Confederation of African Football (CAF):
1. Ahli (Egypt)
2. Zamalek (Egypt)
3. Canon Yaounde (Cameroon), Asante Kotoko (Ghana) sharing third place
5. Esperance (Tunisia)
6. ASEC Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Hearts of Oak (Ghana) sharing sixth place
8. Africa Sports (Ivory Coast)
9. JS Kabylie (Algeria)
10. TP Mazembe Englebert (DR Congo)
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