‘Al-Ahly there for the taking’

Roger de Sa believes Egyptian giants Al-Ahly are no longer such a force on the continent and that Bidvest Wits have every chance of getting a result in Cairo in the first leg of their Caf Champions League play-off tonight.

Kick-off at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo is 6.30pm SA time.

The winners over the two legs will reach the Champions League’s expanded group stage. Al-Ahly have to be favourites, with a pedigree that has seen them lift the Champions League trophy a record eight times.

The last time was in 2013, when the Red Devils beat De Sa’s Orlando Pirates in the final, winning 2-0 in Cairo after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Orlando.

The Buccaneers, however, exposed cracks already appearing in the Red Devils’ pedigree, when they hammered them 3-0 in El Gouna during the group stages of the same tournament.

There is a fair argument to say that even then, the Al-Ahly team was not of the same quality of the side that won three Champions League’s in four years between 2005 and 2008, and that formed the core of the Egyptian national team that won the Africa Cup of Nations three times in a row, between 2006 and 2010.

“I don’t think they are what they used to be, they are definitely not the same powerhouses they were previously, with players like Mohammed Aboutrika. They are still a quality team, disciplined and structured, but I think that will suit Wits, because they can counter that,” says De Sa.

“When I went there with Pirates, they couldn’t handle our speed and interplay. We tried to speed it up and break quickly. The game also went our way a little bit, they missed a penalty and from that we countered and scored.”

Eric Tinkler’s Pirates also had joy at Al-Ahly during their run to the Caf Confederation Cup final in 2015, winning an amazing match 4-3 in the semifinal, second leg in Suez.

They are definitely not the same powerhouses they were previously. Roger de Sa Ajax Cape Town coach