Mustafa Yahya

Sunday, September 24, 2023 11:59 PM

The team’s coach, Marcel Koller, was intrigued Al-Ahlito celebrate with his fans after his team’s 3-0 win over St George’s of Ethiopia in the first leg of the African Champions League Round of 32 on Sunday evening in the game that brought them together.

Al-Ahli’s hat-trick goals in the 29th and 58th minutes and Ahmed Abdel Kader in the third minute of stoppage time completed Al-Ahly’s hat-trick as the Red Giants took the first leg of their journey. Retained their African Champions League title from last year..

Bilateral matches between Al-Ahly and St George’s will be played in Cairo, after both clubs agreed. Failure to host matches in Ethiopia as Ethiopian stadiums do not meet Confederation of African Football (CAF) requirements..

Al-Ahly’s line-up for the match: Mohamed El-Shenawi, Mohamed Hani, Rami Rabia, Mohamed Abdel Monim, Ali Maaloul, Marawan Attia, Aliu Dieng, Imam Ashour, Hussain El-Shahad, Percy Tao and Mahmoud Ghahraba.

The meeting between Al-Ahly and St George’s will be the first meeting between the two teams in the African Club Championship, but Al-Ahly have previously faced Al-Ben and Jimma Aba Keffer clubs from Ethiopia..

Al-Ahly’s first match against an Ethiopian club was against Al-Ben of Ethiopia in the round of 32 of the African Champions League. The first leg in Addis Ababa took place on 22 March 1998 and ended in a 1–1 draw. In the return match in Cairo on April 3, 1998, the two teams drew 2–2, resulting in Al-Ahly’s relegation. The offside goal counted as two goals, and at that time Al-Ahly played with a team with disabilities, the “Super” Arab held in Tunisia. While the first team was playing Al-Shabaab Saudi Arabia on the same day in the Elite Cup, Al-Ahli scored two goals to none to win the title..

The second clash was against the same Ethiopian side and in the same round of 32 of the African Champions League. The two teams were held to a goalless draw on 25 March 2012 in Addis Ababa and the return leg in Cairo on 8 April 2012. AD, Al-Ahli won 3-0 to complete their run and win the championship..

The third clash with Jimma Aba Djeffer’s side in the round of 32 of the African Champions League. Al-Ahly won 2-0 in Cairo on 14 December 2018, and Jimma Aba Djefer won in Addis Ababa in December with a free goal. 23, 2018..

Al-Ahli played 6 matches against Ethiopian clubs, winning two matches, drawing three and losing one match. Its players scored eight goals and conceded four goals.

Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of French club Paris Saint-Germain, told Agence France-Presse and other media outlets that French striker Kylian Mbappé “deserves the Ballon d’Or”. That family.” The Paris Saint-Germain president said after the summer between the club and Mbappe, “The problems we face are still in the family, Kylian is part of the family.” He responded to his former star Lionel Messi after the Argentine criticized the Parisian club.

The 2018 world champion has missed his team’s summer preparations with new Parisian coach Spaniard Luis Enrique after refusing to extend his contract, which expires on June 30, 2024, and was excluded from the first team for the new season. So far, neither side has renewed the agreement.
“I’m proud of what he’s doing and what the whole team is doing,” Al-Khelaifi added after the French star scored eight goals in five matches this season. “We have the best player in the world and for me he deserves the Ballon d’Or.”

On the other hand, Nasser Al-Khelaifi responded to Argentine star Lionel Messi, who left at the end of the season for Inter Miami in the United States, and recently criticized Paris Saint-Germain, especially because he was disappointed. Qatar won the World Cup by defeating France in the World Cup final.

Al-Khelaifi said, “There is a lot of talk outside… I don’t know what he did and what he didn’t say. We celebrated Messi in training by releasing a video for everyone to see, and we celebrated in private. ” He explained, “We did it with respect because at the end of the day we are a French club. The celebration at the stadium is an important thing, of course. The country that beat him, his teammates in the French team, and our fans too. But he (Messi) was and still is a great player. We are proud to have him here.”

In an interview that aired Thursday on Olga’s YouTube channel, Messi said, “It’s not what I expected, but I always say that things happen for a reason.” “The truth is, I’m the only player among the others. 25 players (Argentina world champions) , it doesn’t get praise, but it doesn’t matter.”