Faiza Ahmed
Shady Mohammed (L) and Ramzi Saleh of Al-Ahly celebrate after defeating El-Ismaily in a play-off football match for the Egyptian Premier League title in Alexandria, May 24. (Reuters)
CAIRO — The Egyptian Premier League will launch its season in style, with a match between Egypt’s two most popular and polarising teams, Zamalek and Al-Ahly – an exciting prospect for their Egyptian fans. Both teams had a successful start, with Al-Ahly defeating Ghazl El-Mehalla 2-0 on Aug. 6, while Zamalek defeated ENPPI 3-1 the following night. Zamalek have struggled in recent years, suffering two consecutive losses in the Confederations Cup and seeing their tenacious rival Al-Ahly take the league championship for the last five years. Zamalek fans, however, are confident that this year will be different.
Al-Ahly welcomed the arrival of a new Liberian striker, Francis Doe, who did not disappoint during his first game, scoring both of the team’s goals.
New Al-Ahly technical manager Hossam El-Badry altered the team's strategy this season, using a 2-4-4 formation. Many sports commentators said that this could take the team out of contention; El-Badry experimented with such a formation in pre-season matches with poor results. The easy victory over El-Mehalla, however, has allayed the fears of both commentators and fans alike.
Zamalek spent much of the pre-season in rigorous training for this season’s matches in Switzerland and Romania, playing several practise matches and working in harmony with top European teams. Ahmed Hossam, who joined the team this year from the English Middlesbrough Club, was a new gain for Zamalek. Although he did not play in the opening match, team officials expect excellent performance from him for the rest of the season.
Without a doubt, the most anticipated matches in Egypt this year will be are those that pit Zamalek against Al-Ahly, as both teams acquired several elite players from the region and Europe.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment