Al-Ahly and Zamalek clash in a historic all-Egyptian Champions League final
For the first time in history, the two Egyptian giants meet in the competition's title decider as the lovers of African football are set to enjoy a mouth-watering derby.
Cairo international stadium will host an historic event on Friday as Al-Ahly and Zamalek meet in the long-awaited African Champions League final - a game that has been postponed on several occasions. Both teams are eyeing a historic coronation and a ticket to the Club World Cup that will be held in Qatar next February.
CAF had to postpone the semi-final game between Zamalek and Raja Casablanca whose squad has been hit with numerous covid-19 infections which resulted in putting off the final game of the competition as well.
Zamalek's road to the final
Zamalek kick-started their journey by eliminating Somali Dekedaha FC and Senegalese Génération Foot to qualify to the group stage that ended with the White Knights securing the second place in the first group behind Mazembe to ensure qualification to the quarter-final.
Zamalek who lost the final of the 2016 edition to Sundowns managed to knock off Espérance Sportive de Tunis in the quarter-final after claiming a 3-2 victory on aggregate before eliminating Raja Casablanca with a landslide 4-1 victory on aggregate.
Al-Ahly's road to final
On the other side of qualification, the Red Devils managed to knock off Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarter-final after securing a 2-0 victory in the first leg before drawing 1-1 in the return leg. The eight-time African champions then managed to claim a humiliating victory over Wydad Casablanca on aggregate to secure their berth in the final game.
Absentees of both squads
Covid-19 infections hit both squads hard resulting in 3 key players from each team missing the grand finale, as Zamalek will be missing the efforts of Mahmoud Hamdy El-Wensh, Youssef Obama, and Abdalla Gom'aa while Al-Ahly's list of absentees include Aleo Diang, Walid Soliman, and Saleh Gom'aa.
Both giants are eyeing returning to podiums
Zamalek reached the final of the 2016 tournament but weren't lucky enough to be crowned champions when they lost to South African Mamelodi Sundowns, with the last champions league title won by the five-time champions was in 2002, while Al-Ahly who has the most champions league titles as they snatched the precious title on 8 different occasions. Their last title was in 2013 when they managed to defeat Orlando Pirates of South Africa in the final game securing their eighth title.