13 - 19 December 2001
Issue No.564
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 13 - 19 December 2001 Issue No.564 |
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Half-time
Showdown with Sundowns
The first thing that came to mind following the 1-1 first-leg draw in the final of the African Champions League was that Ahli had the title all sewn up. The tie with Sundowns had come in Pretoria and in less than two weeks the teams will change venues, to Cairo Stadium where Ahli has been almost invincible on the African level. With a home record of 40 victories against only two defeats in the 25 odd years Ahli has played in this tournament and a huge 127-20 goals for and against differential, the odds are stacked high against Sundowns. The sun might very well set permanently on their season come 21 December, the date of the final encounter.
On second thought, though, Ahli's greatest achievements in this season's championship have been made on the road while one of its worst ever defeats in Africa have come at home sweet home. Prior to the draw in Pretoria, Ahli had also drawn by the same score in the semi-final against perennial contenders Esperance of Tunisia in Tunisia and had beaten Chabab of Algeria 1-0, again on enemy territory, in the crucial second leg of the quarter- finals. By contrast, Ahli's most sensational defeat in its history in the championship came this year, a 4-2 drubbing by Petro Atletico of Angola in the preliminary rounds in Cairo. But in Angola, Ahli stunningly triumphed 3-1. Topsy-turvy results but only lend credence that the final game against Sundowns will be anything but predictable.
One more factor not in Ahli's favour; ironically it is their own home field. Since it was built in 1960 and decades thereafter, the 100,000-seat Cairo Stadium -- it can take an additional 20,000 in standing-room-only capacity -- was considered Africa's Wembley. Once inside, foreign teams would be awestruck by its reputation and cavernous size and would need much longer than 90 minutes to get over their shock. But in recent years many stadiums that can hold similar numbers of supporters have sprung up on the continent, making Cairo Stadium no longer unique. Again, in the last few years, the trend for teams the world over has been to treat away matches the same way they view matches at home -- the target is to win. No longer is a draw on the road considered a victory. Many teams no longer settle for anything less than a win in the away leg.
Friday 21 December should be an interesting night all around, even on the sidelines. The president of the African Federation, Eissa Hayatou, has been invited to attend, as has FIFA chief Joseph Blatter. Since Egypt has bid to host the 2006 African Nations Cup and will most probably want to be a candidate to hold the 2010 World Cup, which will be staged in Africa, the day affords a grand opportunity to show off whatever organisational sports skills we have. It will provide the chance for world soccer officials to see first-hand what we can do on the field and off it.
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