Giant killed
In less than one week, Zamalek were ousted from the local football cup and the African Champions League. Eric Asomugha reports on the crash
Zamalek, title holders of the FA Cup and the Champions League, are champions of both no more. In a stunning week, the team exited from the two tournaments in a shocking reversal of fortune -- the double collapse coming just days after Zamalek were crowned Egypt's league champions on a nail-biting last day of the season.
The unexpected league win was supposed to have galvanised the club to even greater things. But in the FA cup quarter-finals Zamalek lost on penalties to Goldi, a team which will be relegated to the first division next season.
The bigger blow, though, was administered on Sunday in Cairo when Zamalek bowed out of round 16 to another relatively weak club, Simba of Tanzania, again on penalties.
The misery was completed when Zamalek's Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Capral, who in just one season with the team brought them five domestic and African championships, announced he would not be around come next year.
Capral reportedly declined to renew his contract for undisclosed reasons, preferring instead to extend his services to an oil-rich Gulf club. His contract was to have been extended for two years during which time he was to receive US$100,000 just for signing on the dotted line and a monthly salary of US$16,000, not including bonuses for championship victories. Zamalek's board members unanimously agreed that Capral should stay but perhaps, after the past week's events, their opinions have changed.
Simba of Tanzania, as a case in point, pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the African Champions League, knocking out holders Zamalek 3-2 on penalties on Sunday in Cairo in the return leg of the second round.
Simba, who had to come through the preliminary round, held a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Dar-es- Salaam and kept their opponents at bay until 20 minutes from time when Egyptian international Abdel- Halim Ali evened the aggregate score.
But Zamalek could not grab a second, forcing the match to penalties.
Simba, who had beaten South African champions Santos 9-8 on penalties in the first round, converted three of their penalties while Zamalek could only score twice from their five kicks.
The loss put a damper on what was supposed to be a celebratory night for Zamalek, whose officials cancelled a post-match ceremony handing over the league trophy.
Zamalek had won the Egyptian championship 10 days earlier and were due to receive the trophy after the match but angry crowds quickly ended those plans.
It had been expected to be a routine match for the Cairo club which let striker Hossam Hassan go on holiday. It was also supposed to have been a lesson learnt: never underestimate your opponent, a lesson Zamalek learnt the hard way less than a week earlier when they were unexpectedly shot down in the FA Cup on penalties by Goldi after 120 minutes of action that ended 2-2.
Goldi took an early lead through Salah, also know as Maradona, in the first half. Salah made the last contact with the ball from a well-launched counterattack on Zamalek.
Zamalek responded with successive attacks which paid off 10 minutes later. Mahmoud Abdel-Razek, better known as Shikabala, effectively controlled a cross from the right flank before netting in the equaliser.
Dominating the game, the league champions piled on the pressure with many scoring chances lost. The score remained at 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes, forcing the game to another 30 minutes of extra time.
Zamalek took a 2-1 lead in the first half of extra time through a controversial penalty awarded by referee Gamal Bashir. The galloping Shikabala was judged to have been brought down inside the box which Goldi disputed. Hazem Emam converted the kick despite a first attempt disallowed by Bashir after Goldi players stepped into the box before the kick was taken.
After 120 minutes, Goldi surprisingly did the damage. Substitute Mahmoud Abul-Dahab collected a free kick and fired low to level 2-2.
Eventually, Zamalek succumbed to relegated Goldi 4-2 on penalties to be denied the double.
With Zamalek out, the semi-finals pit Ahli against Baladia and Ismaili vs Goldi.
Just one day after Zamalek dropped out of the FA Cup, several of the club's players visited the American University in Cairo where they were invited to attend the final of an AUC football tournament and to play a friendly match with the university's soccer team. Some in the stands expected that the players would not show up, so embarrassed they would be to face anyone after their elimination. But apparently the players were not too upset.
There was mixed reaction when the Zamalek players did show up. Disappointed Ahli supporters whose club lost the league title to Zamalek by one point, threw up loud jeers. But there were cheers as well for the players -- Gamal Hamza, Abdel-Halim Ali, Khaled El-Ghandour, Bashir El-Tabie and Mohamed Abdel-Monsif -- when they walked onto AUC's main campus court.
"Winning the premiership came as a surprise to us all," Ali told Al-Ahram Weekly. "Winning the title at the last minute made us extremely happy. Elimination from the cup does not demean our efforts in any way and we are satisfied with our achievements this year."
All the players agreed that losing against Goldi was due to fatigue and the stress of a string of pressure premiership matches which gave them little time to relax.
El-Ghandour confessed he was worried before the match "because Zamalek usually lose an important game after winning the previous one". He said Goldi's performance was unexpected, adding, "I haven't played for a while but coach Capral insisted I play. Maybe that's why I wasn't able to score from the penalty."
Hamza and El-Tabie seemed detached, Hamza saying, "We did all we can and we played really well. Not winning was an act of God and we had nothing to do with it."
The players were philosophical in defeat, focussing on the positive angle of their loss. They said it would help them prepare for the African Champion's League match. "We are now free to train for our last match of the season against Simba (of Tanzania) and we are planning to win," said El-Ghandour. "Victory in this match will give us $200,000, so it is very important for us."
A few days later, neither El-Ghandour nor any of his teammates would pocket the money or have the victory.
Additional reporting by Reem Nafie
