27 Dec. 2001 - 2 Jan. 2002
Issue No.566
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 27 Dec. 2001 - 2 Jan. 2002 Issue No.566 |
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Downing the defiant
Losing the African Champions League final did not prevent Sundowns' often boastful coach from walking quietly away into the sunset. Abeer Anwar reports
If Sundowns' Rumanian coach is to be believed, Ahli's Champions League African soccer victory was not all that deserved.
Not again: The defenders of Sundowns saw more of Bibo, right, than they would have preferred
photo: Khaled El-Fiqi
"I can't believe the result," a shell-shocked Ted Dumitru said following Ahli's 3-0 thumping of his South Africa's Sundowns on Friday in Cairo in the second leg to triumph 4-1 on aggregate, having come from behind in Pretoria two weeks earlier to force a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the decider. "We were better almost the entire match. Ahli scored three goals from the four chances they got. We had millions of chances. It was luck and the prayers of the fans which filled the stadium."
Dumitru, who claims that Sundowns' defenders and midfielders are the best organised in the continent, has never been modest about himself or Sundowns. In truth, though, luck did play a part in Ahli's victory. Sundowns did hit the woodwork twice in each leg. As for the fans, the 100,000 spectators in Cairo Stadium probably unhinged his mostly young players. But Dumitru conveniently failed to acknowledge that the aim of the game in the end is to score which Ahli did and Sundowns did not.
As in the first leg, Sundowns had a big territorial edge in Cairo. They held possession for so long in the second half in particular that goalkeeper John Tlale was reduced to a spectator. But for all their ingenuity in getting to the goalmouth area, Sundowns' young strikers Carlo Scott and Simba Marumo simply could not find the net, thanks in part to the brilliance of goalkeeper Essam El-Hadari.
On the other side of the field, the rest was left up to Khaled Bibo, a swarthy 25-year-old with film star looks who missed the first leg through suspension but scored a hat trick in the final.
Bibo converted a 37th minute penalty after being brought down by Fabian McCarthy. He then struck twice again, on the stroke of half-time and full-time, to trigger wild celebrations in the crammed Cairo Stadium.
"I'm thrilled to have helped regain the African title," Bibo told Al- Ahram Weekly. "Although I missed a lot of matches because of injuries, I felt I would do something in this match. I thought I would score a goal but I never dreamt it would be three. After the first goal, I became more confident and did my best to make the fans return home happy."
To be fair to Dumitru, just reaching the showpiece of African club football was an amazing feat for a team that managed just two goals in six mini-league matches and failed to score in five consecutive away assignments. But therein lay Sundown's most glaring weakness: out of their "millions of chances" -- they had 10 -- their inability to put the ball in literally cost them dearly. The Egyptians collected a record $1 million for conquering the continent, more than twice what Hearts of Oak of Ghana received after winning the premier Pan-African club championship last year.
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