Alexander the Great’s port of call
Pitso’s men dare not walk easy
THERE is no doubt that Egyptian giants, Zamalek, face an uphill battle in their bid to overturn a 3-0 deficit in the second leg of the African Champions League final against Mamelodi Sundowns in Alexandria on Sunday – but it has been done before.
Admittedly‚ such a handsome advantage has mostly proven decisive in the decider of the continent’s elite club competition‚ and you have to go back 40 years to find the last time it wasn’t.
Haifa FC from Guinea took a 3-0 lead over Algerian side USM Alger after the home leg of the 1976 final and looked to be on their way to the title.
But the north Africans turned the tables in the second leg‚ also winning by a 3-0 margin‚ to send the game to a penalty shootout.
They did so with an injury-time goal from forward Omar Betrouni.
By then the momentum‚ and the roaring home crowd‚ were with them and they claimed the title with a 4-1 victory in the shootout.
Zamalek are‚ unsurprisingly‚ very strong at home and did secure a 4-0 win in the semifinals of this year’s competition against a very good Wydad Casablanca side to clinch their place in the decider.
But they have also at times struggled for goals on their home patch‚ though admittedly winning most games.
Aside from that Wydad win‚ they have not scored more than two goals in a home game in either the group or latter knockout stages of the Champions League in well over a decade.
They managed one each against Sundowns and Nigerian side, Enyimba, in the pool stage of the competition this year‚ and have not managed more than two goals at home in the Egyptian Premier League in 2016. Sundowns‚ for all their brilliance at home in the Champions League this season‚ have battled a little on the road.
Their victories at ES Setif and Zamalek in the pool stages are their only successes in the last 10 away games in the competition.
That includes losses at Chicken Inn and Zesco United‚ and a draw with Seychelles minnows, St Michel United.
But coach Pitso Mosimane will be well aware that a loss would be good enough‚ as long as it is not by more than two goals without reply. Sundowns have only lost by three goals or more twice before in the Champions League competition. A 6-1 pool phase defeat at the hands of Africa Sports in 2000 remains a joint-record loss for the team in all competitions.
And then there was the 3-0 defeat at the hands of Egyptian giants Al-Ahly in the away leg of the 2001 final‚ just a year later.
It was a reminder that being the better team is no guarantee of success. Other teams who gave up handsome victories in the first leg include Mali side Real Bamako (1966)‚ who won the first-leg of their tie 3-1 at home to Stade Abidjan of the Ivory Coast and went on to lose 4-1‚ and 5-4 on aggregate‚ in the return.
Ghana’s Asante Kotoko (1973) led Zaire’s (now DR Congo) Vita Club 4-2 from the first leg and lost the return 3-0.
Zamalek (1986) themselves almost handed a decent advantage away when they led 2-0 against Africa Sports from the Ivory Coast in the final‚ but lost by the same margin away.
That forced the game into extratime and the Egyptians triumphed 4-2 on penalties. — TMG Digital