Egyptian giants extend their record as the kings of the continent with 12th African Champions League success
There was an overwhelming sense of familiarity about this season’s Champions League campaign – not only in the identity of the winners, as Egypt’s Al Ahly won the title for the fourth time in five years, but also in the measured way in which they went about their business, again not overtly impressive in the group stage but still qualifying comfortably before surging through the knockout stages to take the trophy.
They edged Esperance from Tunisia by a lone, scrappy goal over the two legs of the final, but it was a deserved success – their 12th in total, extending their record as the competition’s most successful team, far in excess of the next best clubs, Egypt’s Zamalek and TP Mazembe of Democratic Republic of Congo, on five each.
Captain Rami Rabia, who now has six winners’ medals, headed home the only goal in the fourth minute of the second leg in Cairo from Hussein El Shahat’s corner. It took a deflection off Roger Aholou and crept into the corner of the net, but it seemed harsh that the goal was subsequently credited as an own goal by Esperance’s Togo international midfielder.
Review
But Ahly could have secured a more emphatic scoreline had they taken all their chances, and their failure to do so always left the door open for Esperance, who nearly netted when their Brazilian attacker Yan Sasse curled an effort narrowly wide after a swift one-two with compatriot Rodrigo Rodrigues on the hour mark of the second leg.
So tight were the defences over the two legs of the final that had Esperance found the net in Cairo they would have been odds-on to win the cup on the away goals rule. While Europe has dispensed with that tie-breaker method, it remains important in the African game and led to both sides playing with caution.
Al Ahly put up the shutters in the first leg of the final in Tunis and, with hosts Esperance determined not to concede on their own patch, it was a dour affair. Rodrigues had the Tunisian club’s only real opportunity, even with rabid home support willing them on to secure an advantage to take to Cairo a week later.
It was no surprise to see the first leg end goalless, Esperance’s sixth 0-0 of the competition. Defence rather than attack had seen them through to their ninth Champions League final and third head-to-head against Al Ahly. In early December, they conceded three goals in a groupstage defeat to Al Hilal of Sudan, but then responded by not conceding again until the final match. That nine-game sequence in
