Al-Ahly lost the title African Super before Algiers Capital Union With a goal from a penalty kick by Zinedine Belaid in September 2023 in Saudi Arabia, before he returned and the Red Knight lost the same tournament last September on penalty kicks to their traditional rivals. Zamalek After they tied 1-1 in the confrontation that was also held in Saudi Arabia.
And it will be Egyptian Super Championship For the champions, which starts on Sunday, when it hosts Al-Ahly His counterpart Ceramica The semi-finals are very difficult for Al-Ahly, given the loss of confidence among the Swiss Marcel Kohler The team’s technical director and the angry fans, in addition to not supporting the team with strong deals.
It is known that Al-Ahly will participate in the Egyptian Super Championship for the nineteenth time as the team that appears and is most present in it, whether in its old or new form, since its launch in 2002. The champion of the last edition and the holder of the title of the first edition, in the new form that includes four teams, is looking to win the title for the 15th time in its history. And enhancing its record as the club that won the most championships, as well as reconciling the fans angry at losing the continental title to Zamalek.
After losing the African Super Cup, Al-Ahly made adjustments to the structure of the football sector by appointing… Muhammad Ramadan Sports Director, and Amir Tawfiq was relieved from his position as Director of Contracts full-time Sami shirts For his position as general coach Marcel Kohler instead of combining the position of acting director of football.
Mohamed Ramadan imposed full control to restore the lost discipline in the team, as he closed training, prevented media and press statements, and dealing with social media, and decided to reject all advertising offers and prevent his players from attending any social parties.
It showed the training that the team went through in the stadium Mukhtar Altouch The Swiss Marcel Kohler tends to a relative change in the style of play, so that Marwan Attia Clebro is present in front of the two central defenders and behind the midfield duo of Akram Tawfiq and Imam Ashour, so that he can branch out. Yahya Atiya Allah Omar Kamal Abdel Wahed for the offensive side with Hussein Al-Shahat Percy Tao and Wissam Abu Ali.
Kohler had decided to take the entire team roster to… Abu Dhabi Except for the injured trio, Mohamed Hani, Ali Maaloul, and Karim Fouad, especially since the team will stay for a full week in… The UAE When he returns, he will only have four days before a confrontation Al Ain UAE In the quarter-finals Intercontinental Which will be held on October 29 at Cairo Stadium.
On the other hand, seek Ceramica To take advantage of the experience of his players to achieve achievement during his second appearance in the Egyptian Super Championship of Champions.
Ceramica is participating in the new version of the tournament as the champion of the Egyptian Club League Cup last season, and Ceramica benefited from changing the format of the competition to be held with the participation of four teams after it had been held between the league and Egyptian Cup champions only.
Ceramica achieved last place in its first appearance in the last edition, which was held at the end of December 2023, where it also clashed with Al-Ahly in the semi-final of the tournament and lost by a clean goal, then lost again to Pyramids in the third place match on penalty kicks 4-5.
The Ceramica management was keen to provide the team with the utmost calm, as the delegation traveled early to set up a closed camp in Abu Dhabi, and they played a friendly match against Al-Wahda of the Emirates.
Ceramica also has advantages, the most important of which is that its coach, Ayman Al Ramadi, knows the Emirati atmosphere well, as he worked as a coach for periods in clubs there.
Al-Ramadi relies on the expertise of Saad Samir, as well as Al-Jazairi Ahmed Al-Qandusi And Ahmed Ramadan Beckham are the trio who played for Al-Ahly before, in addition to 18 new players who were contracted during the summer transfer period.