Better the devil you know?
Al Ahly v Mamelodi Sundowns – CAF Champions League group stage 25 February, Al Salam Stadium, 21h00
No doubt about it, the Al Salam Stadium grass will suffer on Saturday evening as Al Ahly host Mamelodi Sundowns in a crucial CAF Champions League group match. After all, there is nothing cowardly or caution when these two sides meet – they literally go at each other without holding back. While the South Africans have registered two wins from their two opening group stage matches, the Egyptian giants lost to Al Hilal in their opener last Saturday, making this a must-win game for them. They will be wary of the quality Rhulani Mokwena’s side possesses, having gone on a 15game winning streak in the DStv Premiership, not to mention beating Al Ahly in their own backyard last season. The two giants have met quite regularly in recent times, and you’d think they know each other well, but that’s not a foregone conclusion, as the Red Devils have a fairly new coach and Downs set up their stall differently under Mokwena. Soccer Laduma’s Thomas Kwenaite previews the intriguing battle.
Why it’s a titanic clash…
Whenever these two giants of African football meet, the whole continent stands still. Since that fateful day when the all-conquering South African side brushed the Team of the Century aside and pummelled them 5-0 on a scorching Tshwane autumn day some four years ago, their subsequent encounters have become arguably the biggest rivalry in Africa. No other team has ever defeated the Red Devils by such a huge margin. They have never taken kindly to that embarrassing thrashing and looked for an immediate response so to speak, which they got when they knocked Downs out of the 2020/21 edition of the competition in the quarterfinals stage under coach Pitso Mosimane, winning 2-0 in the first leg at home and coming back to secure a 1-1 draw for a 3-1 aggregate score victory. They would later clinch the trophy after thrashing Kaizer Chiefs in the final. But Sundowns were not done. They defeated Ahly twice during the group stage in the previous edition. Few teams have dominated the record 10-time CAF Champions League winners as much as the 2016 winners of the tournament have done in recent times. Irritating nuisance, if you like.
As they prepare for what is ex pected to be yet another titanic encounter in Cairo this weekend, there is a hint of respect coming out of the Ahly camp, suggesting that Sundowns indeed have the Red Devils’ number. The South African champions have been steadily building up a formidable squad in preparation for the proposed African Super League – both teams have been mentioned to have accepted invitations to participate in the inaugural eightteam structure from August. The arrival of Marcelo Allende, Teboho Mokoena, Sipho Mbule, Abubaker Nassir and Ronwen Williams, as well as the emergence of Cassius Mailula, has added a cutting edge to a team that has gone on an incredible 15-match winning streak in the domestic championship. They achieved this phenomenal feat with their talisman Peter Shalulile operating on low gear. The Namibian international has not yet hit his straps as he is still working his way back to full fitness following surgery that has kept him sidelined for almost six months, but even then has shown his instinctive eye for goal. Al Ahly have not been idle or rested on their laurels either during the transfer window and have brought in Brazilian attacking midfielder Bruno Savio, left-footed central midfielder Ahmed Kendouci from Algeria, deep-lying playmaker Marwan Ateya, Mohamed Dhaoui, a winger, on a four-and-a-halfyear deal, the Cleopatra FC duo of centre-forward Shady Hussein and Mostafa Saad, a winger, on free transfers, and Zambian marksman Walter Bwalya. They’ve also brought centre-back Mido Hossam back from a loan stint at fellow Egypt Premier League side El Dakhlia. This is the clearest sign that the Egyptian giants want to wrestle back the power they lost to their rivals and could present a formidable resistance when Downs come visiting this week.
Hard taskmaster v possession slave
Marcel Koller distinguished himself as a gaffer of note when he turned Austria into one of the top 10 nations in the world. His philosophy is simple – he sparks enthusiasm and evokes emotions in players. He passionately gets involved in his work and coaches every player as if he was the only one on the training field. He is blessed with the ability to fuse a group of individuals and make them pull together as a single unit. He is never satisfied about what his players offer him and always demands more from them. Some describe him as a personification of ex ecutive ex cellence. Rhulani Mokwena, meanwhile, is a die-hard believer in possession football and tactical adaptability. “I think the main objective is having a clear idea of how you want your team to play. In a pragmatic way, it is also influenced by the stature, the culture and the quality of players,” is how he describes his philosophy. “Once you have established that, you then set your clear objectives – playing principles, sub-principles – within that. I’m one of the coaches who believe a lot in possession. We have a framework or ideology, but we are still adaptable to different scenarios, guided of course by clear principles and clear ideas,” he adds. Mokwena derives a lot of pleasure out of watching his team dominate and impose themselves on the opponent by attacking them without fear. He encourages his players to be confident and to build from the back with dazzling and bewildering passing movements that are pleasing to the eye.
Will Tau roar at Downs defence?
In the January transfer window, Al Ahly reportedly turned down an approach from Sundowns for the services of their former attacker Tau, who has been a bit-part player at the club since the departure of Pitso Mosimane to Saudi Arabia. To be fair to the player, injuries have played havoc with his career and he’s never completed a season without breaking down with one injury or another, sparking rumours that the Egyptian side may as well dump him. But he proved his deadliness when they defeated Auckland City 3-0 during the FIFA Club World Cup. You dismiss him at your peril. And perhaps the Tshwane giants do not really need him but were playing mind games with Ahly when they reportedly made the approach. The 28-year-old is a player for the big occasion, with the ability to tear the opposition defence into shreds. However, whether the home side will be brave enough to throw him into the fray on Saturday, either as a starter or from the bench, remains to be seen. Tau was ineffective in the two group stage matches against Downs last time out but maybe will have fire in his belly this time around.