Issue No. 599
Sports
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15 - 21 August 2002 Issue No. 599 Sports |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Lucky strike, or winning streak?
In one year, the world witnessed Ahli of Egypt beat two European football giants. Inas Mazhar watched one of those great wins
Last year, also in August, African club of the century Ahli defeated Spain's European club of the century Real Madrid 1-0. Almost a year later and in the same venue, Ahli accomplished another victory over another European football powerhouse AS Roma 2-1 -- a game held within the Egyptian- Italian friendly week festival.
Click to view captionAhli and AS Roma The week was not just one of football. It included song, dance, and a seemingly endless stream of partying. It was indeed the 'fiesta' it had set out to be.
The Cairo Stadium fiesta, which started Sunday, commenced with a display by DJ's Yasser and Ahmed Shaker. The well-known DJ team were followed by the Ahli national football team presenting their so-called display of skills, playing an exhibition match as a prelude to the grand entry of popular Lebanese singer Nawal El-Zoghbi onto the pitch. While the fans had cheered for the footballers, they went all-out for El-Zoghbi, singing and dancing raucously in total enchantment of the stunning star. The fun had to end, however, and the football finally began.
Goal Keeper Essam El-Hadary was the first of the Egyptian players to step onto the pitch. He waved to the stands and asked for a reconciliation. Known to be Egypt's number one goalkeeper, El- Hadary angered the fans last week when his team lost 2-1 to Senegal's Jeanne D'Arc in the African championship: he was blamed by the fans for two goals against the team. This time, however, the greeting was warm and the reconciliation welcome. For both teams, that is.
The AS Roma team started its three-day visit to Cairo last Friday. They arrived Cairo from the USA where they played an exhibition charity game versus Spain's Real Madrid in New York. On Saturday, the team trained twice; in the morning and in the evening. They were well received by the Egyptian fans, and an afternoon press conference was followed by a pleasant trip to the pyramids and Sphinx -- one that culminated with a horse and camel ride. A peaceful preparation to the coming day.
Both teams were met on Sunday with a rowdy applause. And the Egyptian team took to it well. In front of over 80,000 spectators, Ahli made an impressive attacking start. It may have been their victory over Real Madrid a year ago that gave the players the confidence boost this time, for despite a poor performance and a defeat by Jeanne D'Arc club last week in Cairo in the African League Champions Cup competition, the African champions had different stuff to show that day. The spectators who had flocked to the stadium at 10am to guarantee a seat at the game that kicked-off 11 hours later, were given adequate entertainment for their wait.
Against the world's top Batistuta, Cafu, Montella and Emersson, Ahli's Ibrahim Said, Khaled Bibo, Mohamed Emara, Yasser Radwan and Hossam Ghali displayed their best -- obviously ignoring the Italian Head coach's pre-match statements that he came here to win.
The home team dominated the first half. Several attempts to score were foregone, until in the 20th minute, Mohamed Emara raised a corner for defender Ibrahim Said who came from behind to open the score for Ahli, cutting the ribbon on the cheers and applaud. Two minutes to go for the first half, Ahli's Algerian Lopez Evelino netted a rebound from the Italian goalkeeper Antonioli to give Ahli a 2-0 lead at half time.
Second half saw Roma's head coach Fabio Capello instruct his players to save their reputation and fulfill his vow to win the match. It was definitely a more powerful team that appeared on the pitch -- the real AS Roma that Egyptians had heard of. They followed Capello's instructions and three minutes into the second half, Argentina's famous long-haired Gabriel Batistuta was ready to score when he was tackled in the box by goalie Essam El -Hadary. Egyptian referee Gamal El- Ghandour whistled for a penalty in favour of the guests, and Montella kicked it to the left of El- Hadary to up the score to 2-1.
The guests then put on more pressure in their aim to level the score. Fifteen minutes later, the referee sent Roma's Jonathan Zebina, a Frenchman, off the pitch for deliberately tackling Khaled Bibo just outside the box. The Italian team were forced to continue the match with only 10 players.
The rest of the game saw the two teams exchange attacks and possession of the ball. The result was total captivation of the crowd. All attempts for goal, however, ended either behind the post, or as saves by the goalkeepers. It was an endless cycle -- until the end of the match, that is, when the whistle signaled Ahli not just the winner, but also, in the eyes of football fans around the world, conqueror of the giants.
The fans were ecstatic, and so were the press. Security precautions, however, prevented the media from flocking to the pitch, and they had to wait, instead, for a formal press conference in the designated room. Reluctantly, the media went there and waited. But they waited and waited and no-one showed up. Their saving grace in front of football news-hoggers around the nation and world came by running to the dressing rooms in search of quotes.
Ahli's head coach Joe Bonfrere said that he was glad with his team's performance and result, adding that the players wanted to reconcile with their fans after their African loss last week. They also wanted to keep their confidence secured that they would do better in next week's African game against Ragaa Casablanca in Morocco. The win, Bonfrere explained, came because they were more disciplined and faster than their opponents.
The other team, of course, had other things to say. Capello revealed that his team was still out of shape because they were still in a training programme for the new season. He objectively added that the home team won because they had the speed which his team lacked, and therefore were able to score twice in the first half. In perfect sportsman spirit, Capello told the press that he believed that Egyptian football is good and improving, noting his admiration for Ahli's Hossam Ghali and Khaled Bibo.
The victory marked the latest in a staggered series of Ahli triumphs over European teams. The first-ever came in 1962 when the Red Devils beat Portugal's Benfica 3-2. Since then, the wins have been sporadic, but coming. The last two Ahli wins, however, have boosted the confidence and sky- rocketed the drive. Maybe -- the nation hopes -- this win will be what the team needs to push their play into a consistent state. The fear, of course, is that it goes straight to their heads, rather than just staying in their hearts.
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