Report .. Al-Ahly and Zamalek’s gamble was 100% successful?

The two sides of the African Champions League final (2020) were officially determined by reaching Al-Ahly and Zamalek for the final scene, which came at the expense of the Casablanca giants Wydad and the Moroccan Raja.

Both sides of the final ensured that Egypt regained the African title again after a seven-year absence, as the last Champions League crown returned for the 2013 edition, thanks to Al-Ahly’s victory over the Orlando Pirates. South Africa (3-1) in the two home games.

The last seven years have seen three attempts by the two poles of Egyptian football to clinch the continental title, as it was the first attempt in favor of Zamalek before losing to the South African Sundowns in the final version (2016).

On the other hand, there were two attempts by Al-Ahly, but the result was negative, specifically in the final of my edition (2017) against Wydad, then the final of the edition (2018), and the defeat of the Tunisian Esperance.

But the question is: Was Al-Ahly and Zamalek’s bet 100% correct after reaching the final match? This is what we will review in the following lines:

Al-Ahly:

At the end of last September, the Swiss Renier Fyler wrote the end with Al-Ahly after reaching a dead end with the management of the Red Castle headed by Mahmoud Al-Khatib regarding his continuation in his post, which had started at the beginning of this season.

Fyler was able with Al-Ahly to win the Egyptian League title six rounds before the end of the local tournament, in addition to winning the Egyptian Super Title, which came at the expense of rival Zamalek by winning (3-2), and later arriving to the second round after defeating the South African team Sundowns (3-3). 1).

Fyler’s remarkable career at the local and African level witnessed a commotion in the Emirates as he lost Zamalek’s last Super title, but this did not stop Red Club officials from renewing the Swiss contract due to the team’s good performances.

Despite the renewal of Fyler’s contract, the latter tried to return to his country to visit his family, but the management of the Red Club demanded a change of date, which was rejected by Fyler so the latter decided to leave early in the past. month of October to not pay the penalty clause in his contract, which is also what the Red Club followed. To avoid paying the penalty clause.

Fyler is gone, and the Red Administration has been thinking about the right alternative, especially as the team has an important position when they face Wydad Casablanca in Morocco on 17 October.

Al-Ahly’s choice of leadership was through the appointment of Pitso Musimani, coach of the South Africans Sundowns, who knows the African continent well, especially after previously winning the first continental club-level title at the expense of Zamalek al win (3-0) in South Africa before losing at “Burj Al Arab” in Alexandria with one result. (1-0) Final version (2016).

Musimani, with Al-Ahly, was able to win locally three times in exchange for a draw in a match against Pyramids with a negative result.

During the four matches, Al-Ahly’s network did not concede a goal against Al-Mokawloon Al-Arab, Enppi, Pyramids and Al-Jaish, while the red team scored seven goals.

The most important success of the South African coach is to lead the team to the final of the CAF Champions League after defeating Wydad, two unanswered goals in Morocco and three against a goal in the second leg.

Musimane repeated the feat of Portuguese coach Manuel José by beating Zamalek in the semifinal stage in the 2005 version with a score of (2-1) in the first leg and then (2-0) in the second leg, already that the red team had never won back and forth in this round.

The true success of Musimani will be translated on the 27th of this month when he faces his rival Zamalek in the final of the African Champions League at the “Burj Al Arab” stadium, where the South African coach will have to take the African title, which It has not entered the coffers of the Red Castle since the 2013 edition.

Zamalek:

In Zamalek, the situation was similar to that of Al-Ahly, so France’s Patrice Carteron refused to remain in his position as White’s technical director despite the renewal of his contract, along with his success in obtaining the African Super Cups, then the Egyptian Super Cup and reach the gold square in the African Champions League after excluding reigning champions, Esperance, in the last two versions to win. With a score of (2-3) in total, round trip.

Mortada Mansour, president of the Zamalek club and the White Castle board of directors, tried to persuade Carteron to keep dating after his Champions League career, but the Frenchman refused to stay and then turn to the Saudi cooperation team.

“The search for a realistic coach” … was one of the most important conditions for Zamalek after Ahmed Mortada Mansour, a member of the board of directors responsible for the task of hiring a new coach, revealed the conditions of his club in Carteron’s successor.

Zamalek’s choice was over the Portuguese duo Gosfaldo Ferreira and his compatriot Jimmy Pacheco, to be the agreement with the latter, who had previously commanded the ship White Castle in the 2014-2015 season before leaving for the Saudi quarry.

Pacheco with Zamalek had two tasks ahead of him at the first start, to preserve the team’s chances of qualifying for the African Champions League and getting the second card thanks to Al-Ahly’s guarantee of the first card.

Zamalek encountered fierce competition with Pyramids that continued until the last round, where the white team won second place with 68 points, three points behind Pyramids, who finished their season in third order.

As for the continental, Pacheco could be on the date after beating the Moroccan league champion Raja Casablanca (1-0) to go to Morocco, then (3-1) in the second leg to be the white team in the final hoping to win a title absent from the 2002 edition After defeating Morocco’s Raja Casablanca (1-0) on aggregate.

Pacheco waits on the 27th of this month to continue leading the Zamalek boat towards the absent title, in addition to achieving his first title after a short trip in the first legislature.