The public anticipated a great evening of football, it will not have been disappointed. Egyptian club Al Ahly won their 11th African Champions League on Sunday by drawing 1-1 in the second leg against outgoing champions Wydad Casablanca, a week after their 2-1 success in Cairo.
It was in a boiling Mohammed VI stadium, filled several hours before the start of the match, that the locals of Wydad Casablanca put on a big intensity from the start. Just before half-time, the international Yahia Attiat Allah , semi-finalist of the World Cup, brushes an eccentric free kick at the far post. With people in the area and no player cutting the trajectory, El Shennawy, back in goal, could not prevent the opener, to the delight of the Moroccan fans.
The Egyptians will rectify very quickly, and in the second half, Koller will make a double change. First with Magdy Afsha and Ahmed Abdel Kader, two experienced players from the Pisto Mosimane era, called up at the expense of Marwan Attia, an international recruited this winter from Al Ittihad Alexandria. Then with Hussein El Shahat, who made the difference in the first leg. A strong choice from the Swiss coach. While Wydad retreated to protect their result, the Moroccans bent and broke, from a set piece. A corner with a difficult curve to negotiate signed Ali Maaloul, will be deflected by Mohamed Abdelmoneim, who is ahead of Bouly Sambou Junior at the near post. A goal that air-conditions an entire stadium, and that reverses the trend, Al Ahly went for it 12 minutes from the end of regulation time. The Egyptians will even have the opportunity to fold the game against Wydad at the end of the match.
This 11th continental title comes after several delicate months during which Al Ahly was in doubt. The victory against Al Hilal on the last day of the group stages was the key moment of the season, allowing the Egyptians to approach the rest of the competition. With therefore a C1, a national cup, two Supercups, Marcel Koller is certainly living the most prosperous period of his career, which announces other successes to come, starting with a championship which reaches out to the Cairo club.
In the field, several key players stood out, such as Mohamed Abdelmoneim, this child of the club who, after revealing himself during the CAN, was called back by his training club to offer him his first minutes, and who affirmed from the start as the boss of the defense. His ability to be decisive in important moments characterizes him perfectly. He had scored the goal of qualification for the semi-finals last season, in a badly embarked match in Casablanca against Raja. This season, he allowed his team to win a precious victory in the first leg of the second round at the last minute, on the lawn of Monastir, before unlocking the first leg against Raja, in the first leg of the quarter-finals.
Other great architects of this victory, Ali Maaloul, who definitely enters the legend of the Champions League. The 33-year-old silky left-footed full-back finished the competition with 8 assists. We can also mention Percy Tau who, after a difficult first season, has regained all his abilities, and Malian international midfielder Aliou Dieng, who is once again establishing himself as one of the best players on the continent. Highly sought after in the major European championships, this victory could allow him to exit through the very big door. For some of these players, having little more to prove in Africa, this success could have a taste of the last lap. Unless the arrival of the African Super League remotivates the players of Koller, who, for his part, will want to continue on this dynamic and launch the club towards new successes.
For the Moroccans, this defeat in the cruel scenario, is only the return of the boomerang that will have been the first leg, during which, the goal of hope was scored against the course of the game, in the last moments of the encounter. It is a reminder of the oh so difficult season that the club has known, with managerial instability and no less than five different coaches who took turns to save the season in terms of results. If the Belgian coach Sven Vandenbroeck has shown good things thanks to his methodology and his pragmatism, it is difficult to ask for more. Reason why, even if the club can still win Botola and the Throne Cup, preparing for the coming season must take precedence over the remaining deadlines. We have to face the facts: being in the running on all fronts largely thanks to a foolproof mentality, despite the known difficulties, is a feat that will be difficult to repeat without managerial stability in the off-season. Otherwise, the club would risk, all things considered, following in the footsteps of rival Raja Casablanca. The resignation of Jamal Sellami, winner of the championship in 2020, then the dismissal of his successor Lassad Chabbi, his victory in the Confederations Cup and the Arab Champions League in 2021, did not lead to the expected results. Recently Raja appointed its sixth coach since the end of 2021, while the club is in 6th place in the championship, very far behind the trio FAR Rabat (21 points ahead), Wydad (20 points ahead) and FUS Rabat (11 points ahead). While a boiling Casablanca derby promises to be in the semi-finals of the Throne Cup, a competition that has eluded the club since 2001, the WAC has the opportunity to end on a good note and think about the rest of the season. next.
