Ahly vs. Zamalek: cairo derby preview

State of emergency declared in Cairo; all thoughts are red and white; everybody is talking about Sunday’s night; tickets sold out. The reason is obvious; it is the ” fiercest and spellbinding” Cairo derby between Ahly and Zamalek as described by FIFA.

This time the derby is like no other; it is the opener of group stage’s matches in the African champions league and the season opener for both Egyptian football’s power houses. Tension is at its highest between the two sets of fans after a very hot transfer season in which each club managed to snatch players and spoil some deals from the other.

both teams will be fighting for this cup to be ahead of the other and to prove they are the best as both teams enjoy a successful record in african championships. zamalek was the first African team to win the champions league 5 times:1984, 1986, 1993, 1996 and 2002. on the the other hand, ahly won it also 5 times in 1982 , 1987, 001m 2005 and 2006 (runners up last time).

Preparing for the game, Ahly held a preparation camp in Germany and played three friendlies against third division and amateur teams winning with huge margins before he tested himself against second division side Kaiserslautren and tied with them 1-1. However, the technical staff of the team expressed their satisfaction from the camp and said that they achieved their goals from it. The team then returned to Cairo and continued its preparations behind closed doors.

On the other hand, Zamalek started its preparation camp in Alexandria at the naval academy for one week then they moved to 6th of October city and stayed there till the end of the camp. The team played 4 friendlies against local Egyptian side, won two against Haras el hdood and el geisha and tied in two against Tersana and the national bank.

Both teams added new valuable signings to their squad who will be put to the test. Ahly signed Ahmed Hassan, national team captain, Qatari player Hussein Yasser el Mohamady, striker Ahmed Hassan Farag from Ghazl el Mahalla and Sayed Moawad national team’s wing left.

Zamalek signed German coach Riner Hollman as a new coach for the team replacing Rud Croll as well as former Zamalek player, Tarek Yehia as the new general manager. Concerning players, Ghana’s first striker Junior Agogo from Nottingham Forest, Ayman Abd el Aziz from ginchlerberlgi and Hani Saied from Ismaily are the most significant new signings.

However, it will be difficult to judge them from their first match as their chemistry with other players won’t be at its best.

Major absentees from the game will be injured Ahly star Abu Trika and from Zamalek suspended talented player Shikabala and striker Amr Zaki who is on the brink of a move to Wigan athletic in England.

Security measures taken for the game are very high. There will be hidden cameras to monitor the fans attitude and spot trouble makers, also there will be heavy security presence at the gates of the stadium and among the fans to stop any trouble from going far.

The referee of the game, Coofy Codja from Benin is an experienced referee and has arbitrated many matches in Egypt.

This is the first game of the season for both teams so it will be difficult to expect high technical performance because the players won’t be at their top form; adding to that the tension accompanying the game.

Players to keep an eye on are Ahmed Hassan from Ahly and Junior Agogo from Zamalek. Fans will be looking at them to see if they are worth all the speculations and money paid for them.

The possibility of participation of Emad Meteb who recently moved to Bristol city at the English championship isn’t confirmed yet. The player wants to play but Manuel Jose, Ahly’s coach wants to field those who will continue with him.

The same goes to Hani Saied, who has just joined other players in training two days ago after a transfer that took very long time.

possible formations:

Ahly:

……………………..Amir abd el hamid………..
mohamed barakat…..wael gomaa…..shady mohamed……ahmed el sayed….sayed moawad
…………………….hossam ashour………………gilberto…………………
……………………………………ahmed hassan…………………….
………………emad meteb (ahmed belal)………………………..flavio………..

Zamalek:

……………………………………..Abd el monsef (abd el wahed)………….
ahmed ghanem….amr el safty(wesam el abdy)…..ahmed magdy…… fathallah……osama hassan
…………………………….ayman abd el aziz……….abo el ela (ahmed abd el raouf)
……………………………………………..gamal hamza………………….
……………………..abd el halim ali…………………….junior agogo

key match-ups:

wael gomaa vs. agogo: very physical challenge, i am really interested to see the outcome
ayman abd el aziz vs ahmed hassan: who will win the midfield battle?????
new signings vs the fans and the media: let’s see if they are worth it!!!!
both teams vs first goal: the one who will score first, most probably will emerge victorious
ultras ahlawy vs ultras whit knights: i just hope it will end up peacefully, it will be loud and crazy though!!!!

prediction: 1-1, i just feel it!!!

All Africa will be watching so Egyptian football should appear at its best.