Seven up

Ahli's comprehensive victory over Zamalek has ushered in a new era in local football. Mohamed El-Sayed examines what the win -- and the loss -- meant

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From the top : Ahli's Abu Treika is flying high after scoring goal No. 2; Essam El-Hadari gets down to save from Zamalek striker Gamal Hamza; after rounding the goalie, Mite'b floats one into an empty net; Hassan Mustafa gets the better of Mohamed Abul-Ela photos: Hossam Diyab and Osama

The result of the 94th Egyptian derby appears to have marked the beginning of something new, and something old, in Egyptian football. Not only did Ahli beat forever rivals Zamalek, not only did they do so in style, but they also put behind them several years of mediocre play -- as measured by their lofty standards -- and can look to a future of more of their favourite title -- the prestigious national football league which they have won a record 30 times but which has eluded them in the past four years.

Ahli are now topping the table with 21 points, seven ahead of Zamalek. Rarely have Ahli squandered this big a lead.

The summit match had, and will have, a great effect on the two squads. For Zamalek, aka the White House, the humiliating 4-2 defeat was ruinous on more score than one. It meant an end to the team's 52 unbeaten streak in the league. Standing as an Egyptian record, the last time Zamalek were defeated was on 8 November 2002 at the hands of the Coastal Guards in Alexandria. The White House had hoped to extend their victorious run in order to enter the chronicles of international football, this after they indeed broke the English record of 49 held by Arsenal in the Premiership.

Though the Egyptian competition is still in its infancy -- only seven games have been played -- the defeat badly dented Zamalek's chances of capturing the national league title for the third consecutive year. Since the beginning of the competition in 1948, Zamalek have never won it three straight years.

Undoubtedly, the result of the game will have a significant impact on the coming Zamalek elections due to be held next month. Members of the White House administration exchanged accusations over who should take responsibility for the loss as well as who was to blame for hiring the German head coach Draguslav. It was hardly surprising that every board member absolved himself on the two counts.

In the Ahli camp, the situation could not be more dissimilar. The victory brought to an end a two-and-half year winless derby, the last time the Red Devils beat their arch rivals being in May 2002 in the renowned 6- 1 hammering. And a dynasty appears to be in the making, one that will go from strength to strength for several years to come.

No doubt the win will also have a great impact on the coming Ahli board elections, especially in the favour of club president Hassan Hamdi and his allies.

Though the match, played on Thursday at the Military Academy Stadium, was scheduled to start at 9pm, it began half an hour later. It seems that President Hosni Mubarak was arriving by plane from the UAE at 11pm -- almost the same time the game was to have ended. Fearing that celebrations of supporters of whichever club could hamper the president's convoy -- Cairo Airport is close to the stadium -- security officials decided that the match be delayed.

Before the match, few could have predicted the scenario the game produced. Both teams were almost equal. Zamalek might not be of the same calibre as last year, but a week earlier had defeated third place Ismaili in Ismailia. On the other side, having signed an elite collection of Egyptian and foreign players, Ahli were ready, having registered a perfect record, winning six out of six matches.

As the Turkish referee Culcu Mustafa blew the opening whistle, Zamalek set the stage, a header by Medhat Abdel-Hadi barely going wide.

However, Ahli kept their composure and began launching counter attacks. They were aided by the strange line-up created by Draguslav who put two players in positions different from what they normally play.

Capitalising on the blunders, the unmarked Mohamed Abu Treika advanced from behind the defenders to convert a ground ball, sent into the danger area by his energetic teammate Ahmed Hassan, into the net in the 30th minute.

The second half saw Draguslav change the format from 5-3-2 to 4-4-2, but it proved to be nothing more than a shot in the dark. The second half exploded with five goals. Abu Treika again eluded his marker and sent a thumping header into the net of Mohamed Abdel-Monsef six minutes after the restart.

Only a few minutes later, Mustafa handed the first of three controversial penalties -- all adjudged by experts to be wrong decisions. The first penalty kick went to Zamalek when the ball was handled by Ahli's central defender Emad El-Nahhas. Replays showed that El-Nahhas touched the ball outside the box. Gamal Hamza advanced to net the ball, pulling his team back into the game.

However, two minutes later Mustafa handled the Red Devils yet another dubious penalty call when Emad Mit'eb was supposedly brought down. Gilberto, one of the stars of the game, accepted the ref's gift, sending a left-foot scorcher into the roof of the net.

The rout was on. In the 63rd minute, Ahli's rising star Mit'eb dribbled past Abdel-Monsef from the left side and sent a tantalising ball into the net over the heads of two defenders.

While Ahli fans were celebrating the fourth goal, the presidential plane, as if, they might claim, was joining the festivities, flew over the stadium preparing to land. That was the last nail in Zamalek's coffin. By then Zamalek's fans were on their way home.

Mustafa gave one more unjustified spot kick, netted by Abdel-Halim Ali, the top goal-scorer of the league with six goals.

Never had three penalties been given in the derby. So liberal with penalties was Mustafa that Zamalek striker Gamal Hamza feigned injury in the area several times -- with no luck. For good measure, Mustafa also red carded one player from each team, Mohamed Shawqi of Ahli followed by Zamalek's midfielder Mohamed Abul-Ela, though again, the punishment seemed too severe.

The string of mistakes committed by the Turkish arbitrator raised tempers, culminating in very vocal quarreling on the sidelines between Ahli's assistant coach Hossam El-Badri and Zamalek's attacker Ali, who gestured in front of spectators and cameras alike that Ahli had bribed the referee. The Egyptian Football Association is expected this week to come down hard on the player.

Following the match Cairo went red as Ahli supporters took to the streets to celebrate. One of the odder highlights took place in Bab Al-Shariya where red fans took part in a symbolic funeral, carrying a coffin covered by a white bier to Abbasiyya. Even some of the misaharati -- street caller who awaken people befor dawn for their sohour meal during Ramadan -- called out songs related to the game rather than their work.

On the other side of town, security forces hurried to Zamalek club in Mit Oqba for fear of a riot.

In the first practice session after the match, Ahli's Portuguese head coach Manuel Jose downplayed the victory. "We should not be overjoyed. We have not won the championship yet, for there are 19 matches remaining." Jose reminded his players of how the club lost the title in 2002 and 2003. "You should learn lessons from the past, you should never forget unhappy times [losing the title in the last two matches in that two seasons]. You were topping the table till the last match, and suddenly you were stripped of the title. So we have to be cautious since we still have a long way to go."

Draguslav congratulated Ahli on the sweeping win in the press conference that followed the match and blamed his players for the embarrassing loss. "Some players lacked the know-how of winning a match and others were afraid. That's why Ahli dominated." He cited the absence of the third back Amir Azmi as the reason for the confusion in the defence line but all in all Draguslav was forced to concede. "I know losing 4-2 to Ahli is a big loss but this is football and the competition is not over."