15 - 21 February 2001
Issue No.521
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 15 - 21 February 2001 Issue No.521 |
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Zamalek's broken heart
Egyptian league leaders Zamalek were bashed 2-0 by the persevering Hearts of Oak of Ghana in the African Super Cup final. Zamalek's defeat was a big disappointment for its fans after a recent run of good form that has taken it to the top of the Egyptian league and earned it the African Cup Winners' Cup late last year.
Tangled up in Kumasi, but Hearts of Oak unravelled Zamalek's defence. The prize was the African Super Cup
Hearts of Oak thoroughly outplayed Zamalek as it scored a goal in each half and squandered many more in a trouble-free finale played in Ghana's second-largest city Kumasi.
Hearts was playing out of its home ground after it was banned for a year from playing any continental club games at the Accra Sports Stadium. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) punished Hearts after its trouble-marred win in the African Champions League final over Esperance of Tunisia in December when rioting Hearts fans caused an 18-minute suspension in the match. Kumasi is nearly 300 kilometres from the Ghanaian capital of Accra.
Hearts was determined to prove its eligibility for winning Africa's top club prize despite being out of action since its problematic win over Esperance in which Esperance's keeper Chokri Al-Oaer was severely injured by the Ghanaian crowd.
Ismael Addo scored the opening goal for Hearts in the 11th minute, capitalising on a dreadful mistake by the Egyptian goalkeeper, Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed, who misjudged a corner by Emmanuel Osei Kufuor.
El-Sayed fumbled as he failed to control the high-crossed ball which found the foot of Addo. Ghanaian Footballer of the Year Kufuor doubled his team's lead with just 10 seconds gone in the second half when he received a nicely executed pass by defender Charles Taylor to secure his team's win.
Although the players showed flashes of themselves on a few occasions, Zamalek was far from impressive. Walid Abdel-Latif came close of reducing the deficit in the 58th minute but Hearts' Daniel Quaye cleared the ball from the goal line.
Egyptian league top scorer Tareq El-Said was Zamalek's most effective player but Hearts of Oak outduelled their Egyptian counterparts in midfield.
With the loss, Zamalek missed a chance to capture its third Super Cup which would have earned it the right to keep the trophy for good. It won the trophy in 1994, overcoming Ahli 1-0 in Johannesburg, and again two years later when it beat another Egyptian club, Arab Contractors, in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in Cairo.
Zamalek is one of the most successful African football teams, having won the African Champions League a record four times.
It was Hearts' fourth trophy in a row after winning Ghana's league and FA cup and the African Champions League in December.
Hearts and Zamalek will both travel to Spain in July as the African representatives in the World Club Champions after the CAF decided that both the Champions League winners and Cup Winners' Cup victors would be included in the 16-team tournament.
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