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 |  | Wed, 14 Mar 2007 | |
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African Sport
 African glory for Al-Ahly? Egyptian club Al-Ahly believe midfielder Mohamed Barakat can lead them to victory over Etoile Sahel of Tunisia on Saturday in the African Champions League final. A first leg of few scoring chances ended goalless in Sousse two weeks ago, and confirmed Ahly as favourites to collect the $1-million first prize and a ticket to the FIFA world championship in Japan next month. Barakat stood out in the semifinal triumph over arch Cairo rivals Zamalek, scoring three of the four goals that took the Red Devils into their fifth Champions League decider. Ahly emerged victorious in 1982, 1987 and 2001 and were runners-up in 1983, and the team of 2005 ranks among the greatest produced by the club of the Cairo working class. Among his squad of stars, hard-to-please Portuguese coach Manuel Jose singled out slightly built Barakat as the man to unlock the defence of 2004 runners-up Etoile. "Mohamed is the key player in the team. He has skill and spirit and leadership qualities. At crucial moments when everyone seems tense, he produces something special," the coach said. "He can be equally effective as a midfielder and a striker, and that is the difference between a good footballer and a great one. Talent, skill, spirit, intelligence — you name it and Mohamed has got it. "When Ahly brought him back from the Middle East, many believed he was past his best, but he has proved his critics wrong. Mohamed has been central to our success in Africa this year." After scoring just twice in 10 matches en route to the penultimate phase of the Champions League, Barakat took centre stage and overshadowed leading scorer Emad Moteab. Together they represent the sharp edge of the threat posed by Ahly, whose most notable achievement on the path to the decider was completing a home-and-away double over defending champions Enyimba of Nigeria. Other key figures in the Egyptian squad are veteran goalkeeper Essam al-Hadary, defensive general and captain Ahmed al-Sayed and Felisberto 'Gilberto' Amaral, a workaholic midfielder from Angola. Etoile, beaten on penalties by Enyimba in the previous final, will enter the 40 000-seat Military Stadium in the heart of Cairo desperate to avoid further final heartbreak. And the club from the Mediterranean resort town of Sousse are equally determined to silence Jose, who slammed the ultra-cautious first-leg tactics of another club with the Red Devils nickname. "Etoile concentrated almost entirely on defence at home, and do not deserve to lift the trophy. We did our best to win only to be foiled by opponents too scared to come out and challenge us," Jose said after the first encounter. A couple of Nigerians have vital roles to play for Etoile, with Austin Ejide expected to be much the busier of the goalkeepers, while diminutive Emeka Opara is a striker with a proven predatory instinct. Defensive marshall and captain Kais Zouaghi and midfielder Marouane al-Bokri are the other top-class players in a youthful, disciplined and spirited squad guided by Bosnian coach Mehmed Badzarevic. But Ahly are a side that have forgotten how to lose, with a 6-0 away national championship victory over Al-Ittihad last weekend stretching to 51 matches an unbeaten competitive run spanning more than a year.AFP
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