A confrontation of gold.. Al-Ahly and Zamalek are in the footsteps of history in the Emirates

At 7:30 pm today, the attention of the Arab and Egyptian fans will turn to the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, which will host the awaited confrontation between Al-Ahly and Zamalek in the Egyptian Super Cup final, in a special-themed edition with its most prominent title, Ahmed Sayed “Zizou.”

After his controversial transfer from Zamalek to Al-Ahly during the recent transfer period, the player “Zizou” finds himself tonight facing a test of emotions and professionalism, as he will face for the first time his former team, which made his name and shone in his shirt for years, before opening a new page with the traditional rivals in the Red Castle.

All the spotlight will be on “Zizou” in his first appearance in the red shirt in front of the Zamalek fans, in a confrontation that is not only measured by its result, but also by the symbolic and historical connotations it carries, whether in terms of the fans’ reception of him, or the way he deals with emotional and psychological pressure.

Despite the difficult circumstances that the two teams are experiencing before the match due to absences, the presence of “Zizou” added an additional dimension of excitement, as Al-Ahly suffers from the absence of its striker Mohamed Sharif due to injury, which opens the door for “Zizou” to play a pivotal role in the attack, and may be the deciding card in the final.

Zamalek will not be in better condition, after injuries affected three of its most prominent players, namely Juan Bezerra, Mahmoud Bentaek and Uday Al-Dabbagh, in light of the ambiguity of their position regarding participation in tonight’s final.

The Egyptian Super Championship began last Thursday with two semi-final matches, as Al-Ahly qualified for the final after defeating Ceramica Cleopatra with a score of (2-1), while Zamalek booked its ticket after defeating Pyramids on penalties 5-4 after a goalless draw in regular time, in a final repeat of what it was like last year.

This will be the sixth final that brings together the two Egyptian giants in the Emirates for the Egyptian Super Cup title, and three matches ended in favor of Al-Ahly, compared to only two for Zamalek.

Al-Ahly prevails in a sweep in the Super Finals in general against its traditional rival, Zamalek, as it won seven previous finals, including five times on penalty kicks, compared to only two times for Zamalek, which were decided on penalty kicks.

Al-Ahly holds the record for the number of times the Egyptian Super Cup has been won, with 15 championships, while Zamalek has only four titles, in addition to one title each for the Arab Contractors, the Border Guard, and the Vanguards of the Army.

This season, Al-Ahly is seeking to achieve the fifth consecutive title in the tournament, after being able to win the last four titles, including two at the expense of Zamalek.

Danish coach Jes Torop, Al-Ahly coach, is seeking to achieve his first championship with the Red Castle. On the other hand, Zamalek, led by its coach Ahmed Abdel Raouf, hopes to win the title for the fifth time in its history.

In another, less important match, Pyramids will meet Ceramica at five in the evening, at Al Nahyan Stadium, in the match to determine third and fourth places, and this match will be conducted with an Emirati whistle.

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Walid is optimistic… and Abdel Raouf wants an early goal

Al-Ahly football director Walid Salah El-Din said that his team has a determination to play a good match, achieve victory and win the title, despite the difficulty of the confrontation with Zamalek. He pointed out that the high spirit in training over the past two days reflected the players’ insistence on exerting their utmost effort and resolving the match in its original time.

Salah El-Din added in a statement to Al-Ahly’s official website: “Everyone is ready for the confrontation and Nets Girdshar is being prepared, who felt slight muscle fatigue during the Ceramica match.”

For his part, Zamalek coach Ahmed Abdel Raouf called on his players in the last training to be fully vigilant and try to score an early goal against Al-Ahly, to raise morale and extend control over the match, and not to rush to end the attacks.

. 15 Super titles in Al-Ahly’s history, compared to four for Zamalek.