Al-Ahly against Etoile du Sahel: Ambition against revenge

On October 27^th in Sousse, Tunisia, "Al-Ahly", the Egyptian football champion, will dispute the first leg of the final of the African Champions League, where he owns the last two titles. He will face the Tunisian club "Etoile du Sahel". A meeting between ambition and revenge.

Both teams had already met during the 2005 final, where the Egyptians were victorious. Held in check in Tunisia, al-Ahly had swept their opponent at Cairo Stadium by a score of 3 goals to zero. This time, al-Ahly wants to win their 3rd consecutive title of the African League, the 6th in its history, and thus becoming the first African club to achieve such performance. A victory would also record the team of Cairo as the first to qualify for the 3rd consecutive time at the clubs Mondial that will be held in Japan.

The ambition of Al-Ahly, voted "club of the century" in Africa, will rub the spirit of revenge at Tunisians who are determined to overcome the humiliation suffered from the Egyptian team in recent seasons. First, the Etoile du Sahel would return the slap received in 2005 and finally win this title, which had also escaped from the team in 2004. On the other hand, no Tunisian has forgotten that Al-Ahly won its last two titles dealing with Tunisian clubs...

Last year, and after having a draw (1/1) in Cairo in the 1^st leg of the final of the African Champions League against the Tunisian team "Sfax", Al-Ahly won the title when its star Mohammad Abu Treka scored the only goal of the return game, on the ground of "Sfax", few seconds only before the end of the game.

Already in 2001, on its way to the title, Al-Ahly had eliminated the Tunisian team "Esperance de Tunis" in the semi-final. And to complete the long list of litigation is still against Al-Ahly that "Etoile du Sahel" lost the African Super Cup in early 2007.

Two of the most beautiful trophies in the world: At the time when Al-Ahly seeks its 102nd title in all championships, "Etoile du Sahel" hope to win the 25^th title in its history. 

Al-Ahly :  

Clubs Worldcup : Bronze Medal in 2006

Frican Champions League 1982, 1987, 2001, 2005, 2006 and runner up in 1983

African Cup of Cups 1984, 1985, 1986, 1993  

African Supercup 2002, 2006, 2007 and runner up in 1994

Afro-Asian Cup 1989  

Arab Champions League 1996  

Arab Cup of Cups 1995  

Arab Supercup 1997 -1998  

Egyptian League (32 titles) 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007  

Cup of Egypt (35 titles) 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1966, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007  

Supercup of Egypt 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007  

Sultan Hussein's cup 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1939

Cairo League 1939, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1950  

United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria) 1961  

Etoile du Sahel :  

African Cup of Cups 1997, 2003  

CAF Cup 1995, 1999, 2006 and runner up 1996, 2001  

African Champions League runner up in 2004, 2005

African Supercup 1998 and runner up in 2003, 2006

Maghreb Champions League 1972

Maghreb Cup of Cups 1975  

Tunisian League 1950, 1958, 1963, 1966, 1972, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2007  

Cup of Tunisia 1959, 1963, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1996 

Overcoming the bogeyman. But this year, the Red Devils should also worry of themselves: the team is no longer at its performance in 2005 and the players are exhausted by four seasons played on a relentless pace. In the other side, "Etoile du Sahel" can count on the improved team and some seeds of stars full of promise. The main strength of Al-Ahly is no doubt his experience of major competitions, in addition to the advantage of playing the return match in Cairo Stadium on 9 November.

Two games, 180 minutes, to answer this question: will Al-Ahly will continue his incredible monopoly of African Football, or will "Etoile du Sahel" will finally take revenge on the bogeyman of the Tunisian football?

This Article was written for www.magalif.fr