14 - 20 June 2001
Issue No.538
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 14 - 20 June 2001 Issue No.538 |
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For whom the cup?
Ahli should win tomorrow's football cup final but Alaa Shahine reports that Ghazl Al-Mehalla has a fighting chance
Ahli is odds-on favourite to win tomorrow's football cup final, but in one match, who knows? Anything can happen. Nobody understands that truism more than the team which is favourite.
Ahli, 31 times a winner of the cup, could only manage one goal, in the 90th minute at that, against Al-Qanah, a club with no cup history to speak of, to creep sheepishly into the final game.
And if this year is anything to go by, Ahli will have more than its hands full against Al-Mehalla, a middle of the table opponent which has nothing to lose and is, thus, unfettered by the heavy weight of high expectations.
After a disappointing season by its lofty standards, Ahli lost the league title to its cross-town rivals Zamalek, the first time Ahli had parted with the league crown since 1993.
The disappointment stretched to regional championships as well. The club failed to make headway in last season's African Champions League Cup and last month suffered yet another setback, falling to Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia in the first Egyptian-Saudi super cup.
In addition, its road to the cup final has been rocky, epitomised in the scrappy match against Al-Qanah. Ahli came out guns blazing and hoping to settle things early. However, Al-Qanah coach Anwar Salama's side refused to buckle and kept its composure as the game went on.
Playing in Cairo did not seem to perturb Al- Qanah which was obviously trying to drag the hosts into extra time and a possible penalty shoot- out.
Only a goalkeeping blunder gave Ahli the win. In the last minute of play Walid Salaheddin sent Alaa Ibrahim into the heart of the area to lob home over goalkeeper Mustafa Kamal who inexplicably had strayed way too far from his goal.
Against Al-Mehalla, Ahli will face what could be a disciplined team with certainly better goalkeeping Indeed, Al-Mehalla's man-of-the-match against Goldi (formerly Maaden) in the semi- final was substitute keeper Nasser Farouk who saved three spots kicks to help his team earn its qualifying slot. That performance could give Farouk the nod in tomorrow's match
Ahli will also have to deal with Al-Mehalla's coach and former star midfielder Farouk Gaafar, known for bringing out the best in his players, even if he has to do so by spewing epithets at them, which he has been known to do on occasion.
"I am very proud of the team," Gaafar said after beating Goldi. "The achievement is a culmination of the efforts of many people including the club's board," he added. "Ahli's season makes playing it in the final more difficult, but we are ready for anything," Gaafar added.
Adding to Ahli's problems will be the absence of Sayed Abdel-Hafeez and Yasser Rayan due to knee injuries, plus the omission of four under-20 players busy with the national team which will take part in the World Cup to be held next week in Argentina.
Still, on the strength of Cup history campaigns, Ahli has the edge in the final. Al-Mehalla reached the final five times but never won the trophy. The last championship featuring the club in the final was in 1995 when it lost to the Arab Contractors 2-0. Two years earlier, it lost another final against Ahli 3-2 in a thrilling encounter.
On its way to the final, Al-Mehalla outset the defending champion, Ismaili, in the first round on penalties before blowing past Al-Rabat Wa Al-Anwar in the second round and thrashing Mansoura 7-5 on aggregate in the quarter-finals before edging Goldi to reach the final.
Also riding in Ahli's favour is redemption on the part of its coach. Tomorrow's final will be the last chance for Ahli's coaching staff, led by German Hans Dorner, whose contract is due to expire after the end of the game. "I hope to win this match to bring a trophy to the club before I leave," Dorner said.
The team's poor performance forced Ahli to sign new coach Manuel Jose of Portugal who will take over at the beginning of July. Jose will lead Ahli in the remaining phase of this year's African Champions League in which it has reached the quarter-finals.
The piece of silverware which tomorrow's protagonists will fight for is steeped in history and tradition. Founded in 1921 under the name El- Sultan, the cup was the first official football activity in Egypt. Al-Mokhtalat (later to be named Zamalek) won the first edition of the championship, beating British club Shroder 2-1 in the final.
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