Masandwana will be looking to earn their second star after previously winning the trophy five years ago. In their 2020/21 campaign for the prestigious continental silverware, the Brazilians secured their place in the quarter-finals after an unbeatable successful run in the group stage of the competition. Downs shortly left the knockout stages after Ahly’s 2-0 triumph in the quarter-final leg 1 of 2 playing at the Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo, followed by a 1-1 draw in the return leg at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Sundowns started this year’s quest with a 1-0 win against Al Hilal in Rustenburg and will be playing their third match against the Red Devils who have played one match, drawing 0-0 away against Al-Hilal on Friday.
This weekend’s heavyweight Group A clash will take place at the Cairo International Stadium which was built in 2009 with a capacity of 75 000. This highly anticipated battle will be the third straight season the Red Devils and Masandawana meet in the continent’s biggest club football competition and the two will meet
Who are The Red Giants?
Al Ahly Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Al Ahly, is the most successful club in world football in terms of trophies won. Al Ahly is one of the biggest teams in Egypt and across Africa with their rich history that has seen the club amass a total of 42 Egyptian Premier League trophies, 37 Egyptian Cup trophies, 10 CAF Champions League trophies and 6 Super CAF trophies to cement their status as Egypt’s most successful club. The Egyptian Red Devils are the current holders of the CAF Champions League title, after defeating fierce South African rivals Kaizer Chiefs in last year’s final.
Form Guide:
The team from the Egyptian capital are the current log leaders in the Egyptian Premier League occupying position number one with 22 points after eight games. The Red Devils have lost no games domestically, and recently won their encounter against Misr Lel Makkasa by 4 – 0, Luis miquissone scored a brace and Hussein El shahat and Zeyad Terak scored one each.
Team Manager:
Al Ahly are currently under the stewardship of Head Coach Pitso Mosimane, former player and coach for Mamelodi Sundowns. The South African-born coach is a former player who has shown up for reputable clubs like Orlando Pirates and Jomo Cosmos.
“Jingles” also served as an assistant of the South African Men National Senior team during the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Mosimane has been in charge of The Red Giants since October 2020 and will come up against his former side for the second since his departure.
Players to watch:
Mohammed El Shenawy, though the Egyptian National team Goalkeeper suffered a hamstring injury while on national duty with Egypt during the African Cup of Nations in January. The 33-year-old goalkeeper played a crucial part in the Pharaoh’s setup and is experienced in the CAF Champions League, Shenawy’s return to the team will be a major boost ahead of the clash.
Another player to look out for is Luis Miquissone, the Mozambican midfielder who recently scored a brace in Ahly’s 4-0 win in the Egyptian’s domestic league competition. Miquissone forms part of the Mozambique National team and joined Ahly from Tanzania’s Simba last summer.
Ali Maaloul joined the team’s full training session on Wednesday at El Tetsh Stadium after being sidelined due to muscle fatigue. The Tunisian international player is considered as one of the most important and experienced players since joining the club back in 2016. Maaloul has played in prestigious competitions such as the FIFA Club World Cup, CAF Super Cup and World Cup qualifiers.
What a most and excellently exceptional performance and team spirit displayed by the team. We played absolutely awesome and we managed to brilliantly break the solidly decent defense of Al Ahly. Weldone to the boys and coach Manqoba. they represented us, Masandawana fans, back home with prudent pride and we say Rea Leboga.