Al Ahly v Al Ain: Asian champions face uphill battle at Cairo fortress in Intercontinental Cup clash

Marcel Koller's Ahly side have a formidable record at home and in knockout situations

Al Ahly players celebrate winning the Egyptian Super Cup final against Zamalek in Abu Dhabi. EPA

Having trailed their popularity across the Arabian peninsula during the past two months, Al Ahly on Tuesday return the hospitality. But Al Ain should not expect much kindness to be extended by the serial champions of Africa. They are at the home of the region’s most formidable force in knockout football and Cairo is Al Ahly’s fortress.

Tickets are sold out, up to the Cairo International Stadium’s 50,000 ceiling – under full capacity because of long standing security restrictions – for what is effectively a quarter-final of Fifa’s Intercontinental Cup and the visitors should anticipate as intimidating an atmosphere as any they knew during last season’s victorious march to the AFC Champions League title.

“I have worked in many countries but never experienced anything like here,” remarked Marcel Koller, the head coach of Al Ahly, whose travels in management include spells at some of the noisier clubs of the German Bundesliga, a long stint in charge of Austria and in his native Switzerland.

Koller’s team triumphed in the Egyptian Super Cup last week, the mini-tournament transported to Abu Dhabi, restoring Al Ahly’s reputation for excellence and efficiency in knockout conditions. The final, against city rivals Zamalek, went to penalties, and into the sudden death rounds of spot-kicks.

The outcome, following a goalless 120 minutes, made some amends for last month’s other exported Cairo derby, the CAF Super Cup, which had swung, via shoot-out, the way of Zamalek.

That match was played in Riyadh, part of an agreement between CAF and Saudi Arabia to relocate the site of Africa’s Super Cup. CAF benefit financially from the deal, and the Saudi hosts calculate that, in a normal year, there’s a high chance of it bringing the most supported club in the Mena region to the kingdom, and with them, a big live audience.

Al Ahly have won four of the last five Champions Leagues on their own continent, and playing in the CAF Super Cup is one of the obligations that attaches to that title.

The other is Fifa’s annual gathering of all the continental champions, modified this year because of the launch, next summer in the USA, of the expanded 32-team Club World Cup. The Intercontinental Cup, an awkward patchwork of an event, whose last two rounds will be held in Doha in December, is the bridge between the former format and the giant show to which Al Ain and Al Ahly will be both heading in June.

And it crams in several prizes. Tuesday's contest, besides progressing the winner to a meeting with a Latin American club – and from there, to a possible final against Real Madrid, has on offer a prize known as the Afro-Asian-Pacific Cup. A grandiose name for a rather confected award, but Al Ahly will happily lift it. There’s always room for new silverware in their vast trophy hall.

They’ve been stacking them up under Koller, who has overseen 10 trophies so far from just over two years as head coach. Which explains why supporters bellow out his surname, rolling out the final R of it, with such enthusiasm in Cairo.

Koller came into the job with a hard act to follow, the South African Pitso Mosimane having guided the club to two CAF Champions Leagues titles – and three finals – in three years but with a minor crisis to solve, too.

Mosimane’s successor, Ricardo Soares, had lasted less than three months, having seen Zamalek suddenly eclipse Al Ahly domestically. “This is a job with so much pressure,” reflected Mosimane. “It’s a club with more than 60 million fans, in a country so passionate about football and the mandate for the coach is to win the Champions League.”

And more. Besides the African and domestic titles, there is a desire to break a stubborn glass ceiling in pan-continental tournaments. Al Ahly boast a consistent run of podium finishes at the Club World Cup, with bronze medals at three of the last four editions. But, unlike fellow Africans TP Mazembe of DR Congo, or Morocco’s Raja Casablanca, they have never reached the final of the Fifa event. In that they are also trumped by Al Ain, who finished second to Real Madrid in 2018.

Home advantage for this one-legged tie ought to be an ally. Al Ahly’s unbeaten run in international games in Cairo stretches back nearly two years and 20 matches, to a group phase Champions League loss to South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns.

Neymar applauds the fans after Al Hilal's 5-4 AFC Champions League Elite win over Al Ain at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on October 21, 2024. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Salem Al Dawsari celebrates after scoring for Al Hilal in their 5-4 Asian Champions League victory over Al Ain. EPA

Al Hilal defender Ali Al Bulayhi of is sent off in the 82nd minute. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Neymar in action for Al Hilal after coming on as a second-half substitute. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Soufiane Rahimi scores from the spot for Al Ain to compete his hat-trick in injury-time. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Neymar made his first appearance in more than a year. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Soufiane Rahimi, left, celebrates after scoring for Al Ain in the 39th minute to make it 1-1. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates with teammate Neymar after the match. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Hilal's Salem Al Dawsari celebrates after scoring one of his three goals. EPA

Al Ain's Mohammad Abbas on the attack at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. Getty Images

Renan Lod celebrates after putting Al Hilal 1-0 up in the 26th minute. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo with his Al Hilal counterpart Jorge Jesus before the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The Al Ain starting XI before the match. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Neymat started on the bench for Al Hilal. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Hilal attacker Neymar warms-up before the match. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Hilal's Brazilian attacker Neymar warms-up before the match. Chris Whiteoak / The National

There is relief, too, to be playing in front of a local audience after so much recent travelling. Koller and his squad have in the last six weeks been to Kenya in the qualifying round of the Champions League, to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, where, in both cases, they played sapping finals that went to extra time and penalties.

That’s in addition to the voyaging of all their international stars, the large core of Egyptians to matches in Mauritania and Cape Verde since the beginning of the season, the travels of Palestine striker Wessam Abou Ali to Korea and various Gulf locations his homeless national side are compelled to use for World Cup qualifiers. Koller detected tiredness in many of his players last week.

“We’re not at 100 per cent fitness,” said the coach. “And playing in the [Gulf] heat has added to our fatigue. It’s affected performances and we’re not at our most fluent.” Tempers have strained, too, at least in the case of Mahmoud Kahraba, the winger sent home from the Egyptian Super Cup after a reported confrontation with coaching staff over his being left out of the starting XI.

What Al Ahly do have is strength in depth, allowing Koller to rotate his line-up, and schedule rest time. Percy Tau, the reigning Inter-Club African Footballer of the Year – the award for the leading African player at a club in Africa – came on only in extra-time in last week’s win over Zamalek and is earmarked for a bigger role against Al Ain. The winger’s strength on the counter-attack has frequently been decisive in knockout ties – and that's the area where Al Ahly regard themselves as specialists.