2023-12-14 09:33:07
Jeddah (AFP) – The Saudi Al-Ittihad will clash with Al-Ahly of Egypt on Friday in Jeddah in the second round of the twentieth edition of the Club Football World Cup, in an Arab summit with memories of their meeting 18 years ago for the same tournament in Japan.
Published on: 14/12/2023 – 10:33
6 minutes
Al-Ittihad participates in the tournament that annually brings together the continental champions as the champion of the host country’s league, while Al-Ahly represents the continent of Africa after winning the Champions League for a record eleventh time.
Al-Ittihad reserved its place in the second round (quarter-finals) after a broad victory over New Zealand’s Oceania champion Auckland City 3-0 on Tuesday at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, which also hosts the Arab derby. The winner between the two teams qualifies to meet Brazilian Fluminense, the South American champion, in the semi-finals.
The two teams previously met in the quarter-finals of the 2005 edition in Japan, when Al-Ittihad won 1-0 with a late goal by its star Mohamed Nour, before losing in the quarter-finals to Sao Paulo of Brazil 2-3.
Al-Ahly hopes to avenge this defeat, which came during the two teams’ first participation in the tournament, while Al-Ittihad seeks to devote its contract to the Cairo team, as it beat them in the 1995 Arab Elite Championship by two goals to one and in the 2001 Egyptian-Saudi Super Cup with a score of 3-2.
Al-Ittihad hopes to repeat what its compatriot Al-Hilal achieved in the last edition, when it beat Wydad Casablanca of Morocco in the second round and then Flamengo of Brazil in the semi-finals, before losing in the final to Real Madrid of Spain 3-5.
But the hopes of Al-Ittihad, known as the Dean, the owner of the land and the public, collide with the experiences of Al-Ahly, which played 21 matches in the tournament during 9 appearances in which it achieved third place three times (2006-2020-2021).
The match heralds a distinctive crowd atmosphere. While Al-Ittihad is armed with its noisy fans, Al-Ahly will benefit from holding the tournament in Saudi Arabia, where about 1.5 million Egyptians live, thousands of whom will flock to support its players at the Radiant Jewel Stadium.
Escape from league disappointment
The two teams are entering this Arab summit while they are going through a clear stage of technical fluctuation.
Al-Ittihad captain Mohamed Nour scored the winning goal for Al-Ittihad against Al-Ahly of Egypt in the first round of the 2005 Club World Cup © Kazuhiro Noji/AFP
Al-Ittihad entered the tournament in shaky morale after losing in the league to Damak 1-3, which left the team of Argentine coach Marcelo Gallardo, who joined last month to succeed Portuguese sacked Nuno Espírito Santo, lagging leaders Al-Hilal by 16 points after 16 stages.
The Union is seeking to shake off the dust of its negative results in the local league and appear in a different way, especially after it recovered a number of its injured players, with the exception of Italian Luiz Felipe, who is no longer in Gallardo’s accounts.
The new coach said, “The crowd atmosphere was great in the Auckland City match. We will play against the biggest team in Africa and perform at a special level.”
Al-Ittihad is relying in particular on its veteran French striker Karim Benrimah, who won the Club World Cup five times under the colors of his former Spanish team Real Madrid, most recently in 2022 when he won the Golden Ball award for best player in the world.
By scoring Al-Ittihad’s third goal in the Auckland match, Benzema made history as the first player to score in four different editions of the tournament.
By reaching the fifth goal, the 35-year-old became third on the list of top scorers, sharing with Argentines Lionel Messi and Cesar Delgado and Uruguayan Luis Soares, and behind his former teammates, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (7) and Welshman Gareth Bale (6).
In addition to Benzema, Al-Ittihad is also counting on players who have left a mark in international tournaments at the club or national team level, such as the French midfielder N’Golo Kante and the Brazilian Fabinho, who were among a group of stars who moved with lavish deals at the beginning of the season to the Saudi League.
The International Federation (FIFA) website quoted the Egyptian Ahmed Hegazy, Al-Ittihad’s center back, who will face his former team, saying, “The next match will not be easy against a big club like Al-Ahly of Egypt. Al-Ittihad is also a big club, so it will be an enjoyable match in the Arab world.”
Al-Ahly and the weightless stage
Al-Ittihad fans hope that Benzema will continue hugging the net in the match with Al-Ahly, which is also going through a weightless phase.
Al-Ahly of Egypt before its match with Simba of Tanzania in the African Football League in Dar es Salaam on October 20, 2023 © Eric Boniface / AFP
After losing the African Super Cup to Algeria’s USM Al-Asimah in Abha, Saudi Arabia, in September, Al-Ahly exited the new competition, the African League, without achieving a win (three draws and a loss).
Al-Ahly is competing in the fourth World Cup in a row amid criticism targeting its players and technical staff, led by Swiss Marcel Kohler, following the technical decline and the team’s mediocre results locally and in Africa.
The team did not win in its last three matches, as it tied with Young Africans of Tanzania and CS Belouizdad of Algeria in the African Champions League, in addition to a draw with Smouha in the local league.
Kohler admitted in press statements before traveling to Jeddah that his team was suffering from a crisis of “confidence,” which he said was “the primary cause of wasted opportunities.”
He declared that wasting opportunities “is our eternal problem. Missed goals are our biggest enemy in recent matches.”
Facing the Al-Ittihad battalion, which is also studded with the talented Brazilian returning from Romarinho’s injury, Al-Ahly is armed with its winger Hussein El-Shahat, who tops the list of players with the most participation in the Club World Cup with 12 matches, the South African Percy Tau, who is ecstatic about recently winning the award for the best African player active locally, and his veteran goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy.
His former striker, Imad Miteb, who played in the 2005 match, told the FIFA website, “It is necessary to control the middle of the field, and not to exaggerate in the defensive aspect, as Al-Ahly must appear in its usual style, manner, and form… in addition to being careful of the set pieces that characterize the Jeddah Union players.” .
At Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan, the Asian champion, will play against Leon of Mexico, the CONCACAF champion, and the winner between them will meet Manchester City of England, the European champion, in the semi-finals.
© 2023 AFP
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