Zamalek and Al-Ahly .. 4 developments in the early summit, and this is its date, UAE time

On Friday, (at 22:00 UAE time), attention will turn to Cairo International Stadium, the early Clasico theater between the two traditional rivals, Zamalek, the defending champions, and Al-Ahly, its runners-up, to break up the partnership of the lead with a public presence for the first time in nearly two years at the top of the third stage of the Egyptian Football League.

1

a thousand fans

Poles fans return to the stands for the first time since March 2020 after the outbreak of the Coruna virus, with 1,000 fans allowed for each team.

Al-Ahly leads the standings with six points, with a goal difference in front of Zamalek and Pyramids, who have the opportunity to be in the lead temporarily when Al-Ittihad hosts the third Alexandria (4 points), Thursday, in the opening stage.

2

"Al-Ahly is a candidate for the league title"

Zamalek is entering the season amid very difficult financial and administrative conditions, as it suffers from a financial crisis that prevented it from restricting its new deals for two periods due to penalties and fines amounting to 17 million dollars by the International Federation of the Game (FIFA) for the benefit of former players and coaches who did not receive their dues after their departure, as well as For the current players not receiving their financial dues in arrears.

Despite the successful start of Zamalek by achieving two consecutive victories over Enppi and the Vanguards of the Army with an exemplary performance, its French coach Patrice Carteron sparked widespread controversy with his statements before the summit, saying, "I have not changed my position and I am still in my opinion: Al-Ahly is the first candidate to crown the league title, thanks to his possession of funds and the strengthening of his ranks. With new deals, while Zamalek did not conclude any deals, stressing that Al-Ahly “has an advantage that may give him victory in the summit meeting.”

He continued, "All matches are important, and it is not a condition that we defeat Al-Ahly to win the league title. Last season, we lost against Al-Ahly in the first match and tied in the second, but in the end we won the league title."

3

The absence of Shikabala and

Zamalek will play the match with complete ranks, except for the absence of its leader, Mahmoud Abdel Razek, "Shikabala", who is punished with a suspension of 8 matches after his verbal clash with the head of the temporary committee for the management of the Football Association while receiving the league shield last season.

Although the outcome of the match will not affect the two teams' journey in the league, both are looking to win, even if the motives differ.

Zamalek hopes to achieve a moral victory that gives its fans the confidence to retain the title despite the difficult circumstances it is going through, while Al-Ahly seeks to reconcile its fans by winning the special championship between the two rivals, and to compensate them for the loss of the league and the local super competitions last season.

4

Musimani the Zamalek knot

Al-Ahly enters the match with administrative and financial stability, and supports the team with new deals, most notably the South African Percy Tau and the Mozambican Luis Micisoni.

Al-Ahly prepared for the summit with an early closed camp, during which it played a friendly match against Al-Marj Club, which is active in the third division, to prepare the substitutes and those returning from injury.

"We preferred the closed camp to impose a state of focus on the players, and we imposed a media ban on all team members until the end of the summit," said football director Sayed Abdel Hafeez.

In turn, South African Al-Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane has his full squad at his disposal, although there is doubt about the participation of his captain, the giant goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy, who has just returned from the injury he suffered with his country against Libya in Benghazi in the fourth round of the African qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Musimani constitutes a "node" for Zamalek, because he is the coach who denied the team two titles in the CAF Champions League in 2016 when he was coach of his compatriot Sundowns and in 2020, led by Al-Ahly.

On the other hand, Carteron has a perfect record against Al-Ahly, as he led the White Knight to two wins in the local super in February 2020 with penalty kicks in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, and the league season 2019-2020 with a score of 3-1.

As for the confrontations between Mosimane and Carteron, the balance in four confrontations is relatively tilted to the South African, who came out winning twice against one loss and a draw.

The first confrontations of the coaches came in the round of 32 of the Champions League in 2015 when the South African was coach of Sundowns and the French coach of TP Mazembe, where the first leg ended with Musimani winning 1-0, before Cartieron turned the table 3-1.

The two coaches waited 6 years to renew the conflict between them after they took over the leadership of the two poles, where they met last April in the first round of the league competition and the meeting ended with Al-Ahly winning with two clean goals, before they met for the fourth time last May in the league as well, and ended in a 1-1 draw.

Al-Khamis will also play Al-Ahly Bank with Al-Ismaily, Misr El-Maqasa with Ceramica Cleopatra, Arab Contractors with Tala’a El-Geish, and El-Gouna with Farco. Friday Smouha plays with Eastern Company, Ghazl El-Mahalla with Enppi, and Future with Al-Masry.

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