Red alert
As the national football league got down to business, Ahli seem determined to end a four-year fast. Mohamed El-Sayed reports
The 48th edition of Egypt's national football league started on Thursday as defending champions Zamalek blew by Ghazl Al-Mehalla.
In Cairo, title holders Zamalek, or the White House, got off to a convincing start, punishing Ghazl Al-Mehalla 4-1. Coming back from 1-0 at the half, Zamalek peppered the visitors, known as the Farmers, with four goals in the second by Tamer Abdel-Hamid (48), Sameh Youssef from a penalty kick (50), Tarek El-Sayed (56), and Abdel-Halim Ali, the top goal-getter of last year with 20 goals, in the 80th minute.
The victory was crucial for Zamalek, coming as it did just one week after their humiliating 4-2 defeat inflicted upon them by the second division team the Arab Contractors in the Egyptian Super Cup. With the memory of the loss still fresh, the whites were keen to recapture the confidence of their fans and themselves.
"The players regained their fighting spirit and determination," Zamalek's new German head coach Dragoslav told reporters after the match. "Actually, I praise the players for not being influenced by all the criticism they received after their loss in the Super Cup, thanks to their experience in dealing with such situations."
Nevertheless, Zamalek's defence could pose serious problems to the club as it seeks its third consecutive title. Since Beshir El-Tabei's departure to Turkey last month, a huge gap has opened up in the back line that will not easily be filled.
In Suez, Ahli sent a strongly-worded message to the competition after easing to a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Cement Suez. The Devils, runners-up the last two seasons, needed only half an hour to ensure three points with two goals by their up and coming star Emad Miteb (10 and 13) and a third by Osama Hosni (32).
Having lost the title for the fourth consecutive year, Ahli, the club with the most league titles in Egypt, signed up a plethora of Egypt's elite players. Emad El-Nahhas, Islam El-Shater, Mohamed Barakat and Mohamed Abu Treika are just some of the big names added to the roster of the famous team in red.
Asked about the fall in Ahli's performance in the second half, Ahli's Portuguese head coach Manuel Jose said: "This is a normal state that any team goes through, for if we started the season with high-level performance, the result will not be so good in the end."
Another challenger for the title, Ismaili, stumbled in their opening match, managing only a 0-0 draw with Tersana in a half-hearted game. Depending on a team consisting mainly of youths, Ismaili, called the Dervishes, failed to prove they are genuine title contenders, especially after giving up several of their stars to Ahli.
Even the new signings of the Dervishes, the Sudanese Richard Gastin and Nigerian Solomon, failed to leave a mark on their first official game with the team.
The Dervishes' main problem under the leadership of German Theo Bucker, making his second seasonal appearance, is the lack of knowing how to win away matches. And without enough seasoned players, it looks like there is no quick solution.
In other matches, newly-promoted Army beat Ittihad of Alexandria 2-1 in the biggest upset of the new season. Baladiyet Al-Mehalla edged newly promoted Cement Assiut 2-1, Mansoura defeated the Coastal Guards 2-1, and Misri, beefed up by the addition of the mercurial Hassan twins, drew 1-1 with the oil company team Enppi.
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