Egyptian Premier League champions Ahly will face an easy mission when they host South Sudanese side Atlabara at Alexandria s Borg El-Arab Stadium in the second leg of the CAF Champions League on Friday, as the first leg of the preliminary round finished with 4-0 for the Red Devils two weeks ago. The Cairo giants kicked off their bid to win the African Champions League for the first time since 2013 with an easy 4-0 win over Atlabara in the first leg of the preliminary round.

Contracting a new coach for the national football team has been established as a priority, according to Amr El-Ganainy, head of the normalisation committee at the Egyptian Football Association (EFA). El-Ganainy promised Egyptian football was set to be back on the right track. The statement was one of El-Ganainy s earliest since he had been appointed head of the normalisation committee, formed on Tuesday night upon FIFA directives for the new committee to function until the upcoming elections. “The necessity of changing the regulations of the statute – in force since 2011 -- was FIFA s top priority while assigning the temporary committee to moderate the association,” El-Ganainy told Nile Sports TV Channel. FIFA s decision comes on the heels of the resignation of the EFA President Hany Abo Rida and board members after the national team s unceremonious exit from the Africa Cup of Nations, held in Egypt, in the 16th round in July. The EFA was then temporarily managed by its Chief Executive Tharwat Sewilam, during which time a FIFA mission visited Cairo. “We also want to use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the Egyptian Premier League. We know the feature is costly, but we are currently looking for a sponsor,” El-Ganainy said. Despite being a former Zamalek Club board member, El-Ganainy said he would stand at an equal distance from all football clubs, “be it Ahly, Zamalek, or any other club.” Before its resignation, the EFA board sacked coach Javier Aguirre of the national team after the early elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations. The coach s bench remains vacant. “Hiring a new coach for the national team is one of the normalisation committee s top priorities. We are aiming for a top-level coach who can lead the Pharaohs in the coming period,” El-Ganainy added.

Zamalek held a press conference on Tuesday unveiling their new Serbian coach Milutin Micho Sredojevic, revealing the details of the deal. On Monday, the 49-year-old Micho signed the contract with Zamalek, but the club had not disclosed any details. "Micho signed a one-season contract for $1.2 million. The contract includes a release clause stipulating a compensation worth two months of the coach s salary," said club chairman Mortada Mansour. The coaching job has been vacant in Zamalek since the sacking of coach Khaled Galal over a 1-0 loss to rivals Ahly in the Cairo Derby, and the loss of the Egyptian Premier League title. "I m very delighted to lead Zamalek. I have worked in coaching in the African continent since 2001. I always try to perform well and achieve positive results where I work," the new Zamalek coach told the press conference. "I will be assisted by two Serbian coaches, one of them is for the goalkeepers." "I will offer my best performance to Zamalek, and the players high quality will help me. With spirit, determination and commitment I can achieve everything. I would like to thank Orlando Pirates, but coaching Zamalek is a dream for anyone," he added. The Serbian coach won the Ugandan Premier League three times in 2002, 2003, and 2004 upon taking charge for Villa SC. This was before winning the Ethiopian League title four times while taking charge of Saint-George SA from 2005 to 2010. The former Rwanda and Uganda coach also won the Sudanese league title once in 2010 with Al-Hilal Omdurman. Under Micho s guidance, Orlando Pirates ended the domestic league in second place last season to ensure a place in the African Champions League; marking their first appearance since losing the final to Egypt s Ahly in 2013. Under temporary coach Tarek Yehia, Zamalek kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 7-0 hammering of Somalia s Dekedaha in the first leg of the preliminary round on Friday.

Zamalek have officially announced the signing of Serbian tactician Milutin Micho Sredojevic without disclosing the financial details before introducing the new coach in a press conference in the coming few days. "I started training in Africa since 19 years old, but now I can say my dream has come true when I took charge for Zamalek," Micho told a television programme after signing the contracts with Zamalek management. "I am impressed with Zamalek management seeing that the chairman loves victories, so I can say I am in the right place," "Zamalek have a brilliant squad including two of Tunisia s best players and three Moroccan players alongside the Egyptian stars. So it looks like I will have the tools of success," he added. "Now let s work to achieve Zamalek s goals," Micho won the Ugandan Premier League three times in 2002, 2003, and 2004 upon taking charge for Villa SC. This was before winning the Ethiopian League title four times while taking charge of Saint-George SA from 2005 to 2010. The former Rwanda and Uganda coach also won the Sudanese league title once in 2010 with Al-Hilal Omdurman. Under Micho s guidance, Orlando Pirates ended the domestic league at second place last season to ensure a place in the African Champions League; marking their first appearance since losing the final to Egypt s Ahly in 2013. The coaching job has been vacant in Zamalek since the sacking of former coach Khaled Galal over a 1-0 loss to rivals Ahly in the Cairo Derby, and the loss of the Egyptian Premier League title. Under temporary coach Tarek Yehia, Zamalek kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 7-0 hammering of Somalia s Dekedaha in the first leg of the preliminary round on Friday.

Ahly s hopes of completing a domestic double were ended by Pyramids FC, who dumped the illustrious Cairo club out of the Egypt Cup for the second successive season with a 1-0 win in the round of 16 on Saturday. In-form Burkinabe winger Eric Traore finished off a flowing three-man move to score what proved to be the winner ten minutes into the second period, with Ahly paying the price of failing to make their dominance count. The Red Devils bid to restore parity was also not helped by the dismissal of central defender Ayman Ashraf, who earned a second yellow card for fouling Traore on 71 minutes as Pyramids looked close to adding a second after launching repeated breakaways. Pyramids also eliminated Ahly from the Egypt Cup quarters with a similar 1-0 victory last season before defeating Africa s most successful club twice in the Egyptian Premier League. Ahly were crowned league champions for the fourth successive season last month but the Egypt Cup defeat will cast doubts over the future of Uruguayan coach Martin Lasarte, who remains unpopular with team s fans due to a series of uninspiring displays. Lasarte was given a vote of confidence by Ahly s board following a stunning 5-0 drubbing at the hands of South Africa s Mamelodi Sundowns in the African Champions League quarters in April. Pyramids finished third in the league last season after spending big to bolster their squad and new coach Sebastien Desabre said recently he is keen on delivering a first ever title for the club, which changed hands last month after Emirati investor Salem Al-Shamsi bought it from Saudi Turki Al-Sheikh. Wasteful Azaro Although goal-scoring chances were scarce, Ahly had the better of the first half and were unlucky not to go ahead on 33 minutes when Walid Azaro, who is often criticised for his wastefulness, missed a sitter. The Moroccan striker was found unmarked by a diagonal cross from playmaker Saleh Gomaa but poked the ball wide with his first touch with the goal at his mercy. Winger Ramadan Sobhi also had a fine effort when he cut inside his marker and sent a right-foot shot that was palmed away by keeper Ahmed El-Shennawi. At the other end, Pyramids could only create half-chances, including a curling free kick from ex-Ahly man Abdallah El-Said which narrowly missed the target. Pyramids improved after the break, with some neat combinations between new recruit Lumala Abdu and Traore unsettling Ahly s rearguard. They scored against the run of play from one such move in the 55th minute. El-Said s deft through pass released Abdu down the right and the Ugandan s low cross found the unmarked Traore for a simple finish. Ahly pressed hard for an equaliser despite Ashraf s red card and they came close 10 minutes from time when Azaro s goal-bound header was tipped over by keeper El-Mahdi Soliman, who replaced El-Shennawi after he was injured.

Champions League winners Liverpool won the Super Cup 5-4 on penalties against Chelsea after the game ended 2-2 following extra-time on Wednesday. With the first nine penalties all converted, Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham saw his effort blocked by the legs of Liverpool keeper Adrian to hand victory to Juergen Klopp s side. Chelsea went ahead in the 36th minute when N Golo Kante drove from midfield and found Christian Pulisic, who turned inside and delivered the perfect through ball for Olivier Giroud to confidently slot home. American Pulisic then beat Adrian with a fine shot after a swift run down the flank but the effort was ruled out for offside. Liverpool manager Klopp introduced Brazilian Roberto Firmino at the break and he had an instant impact, poking the ball past the advancing Kepa Arrizabalaga and Sadio Mane tapped into the unguarded goal to make it 1-1 in the 49th minute. Arrizabalaga then produced a superb double save in the 75th minute to deny Mohamed Salah s deflected low drive and the Spanish keeper did superbly to get back up and push Virgil van Dijk s follow up against the bar. With the teams level after 90 minutes the game went into extra-time, past midnight local time, and Liverpool struck after just five minutes with Mane driving home after an excellent exchange with Firmino. But six minutes later, Chelsea were back on level terms with a Jorginho penalty after Abraham was brought down in the box by Liverpool keeper Adrian, setting up the shoot-out.

Zamalek finalised an agreement with a foreign coach, said club president Mortada Mansour on Wednesday at a press conference. The coach s name would be revealed on Sunday, he added. "The new coach will arrive in Cairo next Sunday after the match against Dekedaha. We unanimously agreed on the assistant staff," Mansour said. The Zamalek chairman decided not to reveal the new coach s name, he said, because he didn t want competing clubs to establish contact with the new coach lest they try to talk him out of the Zamalek deal. The Whites ended second in the last season of the Egyptian Premier League, and won the African Football s Confederation Cup. Mansour sacked the club s Swiss coach Christian Gross, nevertheless, blaming him for losing the league title. After sacking Gross, Zamalek hired Khaled Galal to lead the team in the remaining matches in the local league, but he too was sacked after losing to Ahly in the league s last match. The White Knights chairman assigned Zamalek s former coach and player Tarek Yehia to be the new caretaker until the club signed with the new foreign coach. Yehia will lead Zamalek in their first game in the 64th round of the CAF Champions League against Dekedaha.

Barcelona officials headed to France on Tuesday for talks with Paris Saint-Germain to seal a return to the Spanish club for Brazilian star Neymar, reports said. The club s director for football, retired French international Eric Abidal, and two other top club officials few to Paris to meet with their Paris Saint-Germain counterparts, Catalan radio Rac1 and Catalan television TV3 reported. "The breakthrough is significant as PSG had up until now refused to meet with Barcelona emissaries but it does not mean that the deal is close," Rac1 wrote on its website. The deal which the Barcelona officials will propose could include other players such as Philippe Coutinho or Ivan Rakitic, it added. Paris Saint-Germain revealed on Saturday that Neymar transfer talks are "more advanced than before" after the Brazilian was dropped for the French champions opening Ligue 1 match. Sporting director Leonardo confirmed to reporters that the Brazilian was near the exit door but that PSG were "not yet ready to give their approval" for the transfer. Real Madrid or a return to Barcelona are the most likely destinations for the world s most expensive footballer, won two La Liga titles and the 2015 Champions League in four years with the Catalan side. Sports newspaper AS has reported that Neymar has been offered to Madrid by PSG, who are open to selling if they can either recoup the 222 million euros ($249 million) they spent on him in 2017 or receive half that amount with players included in the deal. But Barcelona-based Mundo Deportivo says that he would prefer a move back to Catalonia to play alongside former teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Egypt s Ahly kicked off their bid to win the African Champions League for the first time since 2013 with an easy 4-0 win over South Sudan s Atlabara in the first leg of the preliminary round on Sunday. Moroccan striker Walid Azaro scored twice and wasted a slew of goal-scoring chances as Ahly put one foot in the second round. In-form Tunisian left-back Ali Maaloul, Ahly s best performer last season, converted a 17th-minute penalty to put them ahead and substitute Ahmed El-Sheikh put the icing on the cake with a stoppage-time goal. Although the match was played at Alexandria s Borg El-Arab Stadium, it was Ahly s away fixture as both sides agreed to play both legs in the Mediterranean city. As expected, Ahly dominated the early proceedings and they went ahead via a precise spot-kick from Maaloul after central midfielder Amr El-Sulaya was fouled in the area. Azaro almost scored a beauty a few minutes later but his brilliant overhead kick struck the crossbar. He made amends on 32 minutes with an easy tap-in after some good work from winger Hussein El-Shahat down the right flank. Azaro, who is often criticised by Ahly s faithful for his wastefulness, squandered some easy chances, including hitting the ball wide with the goal at his mercy. But he scored again three minutes into the second half, with his tame header spilled by the keeper into the net. El-Sheikh completed the rout two minutes into the injury time with a simple finish after skipping past his challenger in the area.

Zamalek s new coach will be unveiled on Tuesday, the club president has said, adding that the club is considering six candidates, including a second term for Jesualdo Ferreira of Portugal. "We settled on six candidates...All the candidates are top level coaches," Mansour said in a video published in his Facebook page on Saturday. "The last negotiations were with the club s former coach [Jesualdo] Ferreira who welcomed taking the charge but starting from next October for personal reasons. Ferreira led the team to the domestic double in the 2014/2015 season. "The fans are asking for Ferreira s return as he previously won the league and Cup titles," he added. "The choosing of the new coach will be on Tuesday. I invited all the club s icons to attend a meeting with the board members to discuss the selection and choose the coach," Mansour said. "We reached agreement with all of the six candidates who all know the value of Zamalek. When the board and the icons settle on the name we will announce it immediately and he will be starting his mission in just two days," he added. Khaled Galal was sacked earlier this month after a 1-0 loss to rivals Ahly in the Cairo derby and the loss of the Egyptian premier league title. Former Zamalek star Tarek Yehia was made caretaker coach until a new coach is appointed. Ferreira, 73, became a fan favourite after guiding the team to their first league title first since 2004, and following that with a Cup victory. He resigned seven months into his term, in November 2015, after a reported dispute with Mansour. Recent reports claim that Zamalek have already reached an agreement with Argentinean coach Ramon Diaz, who delivered outstanding results last season with Egyptian club Pyramids FC. "Diaz is among the six candidates and the final decision will be made at Tuesday s meeting," Mansour concluded. Zamalek finished second in the Egyptian Premier League this season, and won the continental-level Confederation Cup. The White Knights still have the chance to fight for more titles, the Egypt Cup and the CAF Super Cup, in addition to last season s edition of the Egypt Super Cup.

Zamalek has had their request approved to postpone the team s first match in the African Champions League against Somalia s Dekadaha from 11 to 16 August, according to local reports published on Thursday. The Whites have requested earlier to play their match against the Somali champions at Petrosport stadium, but was refused by the security authorities since the game coincides with the first day of Eid Al-Adha holiday. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided to play the first and second leg matches between Zamalek and Dekadaha in Egypt, upon the Somali club request. Zamalek officials were reportedly contacted by Dekadaha s officials to postpone the match for a week, which the Somali club welcomed. The second-leg match is scheduled to be held on 23, 24, or 25 August. CAF Confederation Cup champions Zamalek were supposed to play the CAF Super Cup game on 16, 17, or 18 August against the winner of the African Champions League, but the match was postponed to a later date by CAF.

Gareth Bale s stand-off with Real Madrid continued on Wednesday after the forward was left out of Zinedine Zidane s squad to face Red Bull Salzburg in a friendly. Bale has only played in two of Real Madrid s five pre-season games so far, coming on as a substitute against Arsenal and Atletico Madrid, and has now been left out completely for a third fixture in a row. James Rodriguez and Mariano Diaz, who are both expected to be sold, were also not included for the match in Austria. Zidane has made clear that Bale is not in his plans as he looks to rejuvenate Real Madrid following their miserable season last term. The club are keen to sign Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, with Tottenham s Christian Eriksen and Ajax youngster Donny van de Beek potential alternatives. But Madrid first need to raise funds, after already spending around 300 million euros ($336 million) this summer. Zidane said last month that Bale being sold would be "best for everyone", while Bale s agent Jonathan Barnett told AFP: "Zidane is a disgrace - he shows no respect for a player that has done so much for Real Madrid." Bale is in no rush to leave the Santiago Bernabeu, where he has a contract until 2022, worth around 18 million euros a year. He agreed terms with Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning last month but the move was called off after Madrid failed to agree a fee for the 30-year-old. Bayern Munich retain an interest but any deal would be hugely expensive, making it increasingly likely Bale will remain at Madrid for the start of the La Liga season next weekend.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) denied on Tuesday the alleged rumors about Cairo International Stadium hosting the Egypt Super Cup final between Ahly and Zamalek scheduled for 18th September. "We didn t settle on a stadium for the game yet. We can t hold the game at Cairo stadium as it s still under maintenance," said the EFA s Media and Communication Manager Osama Ismail in an official statement. One day before the beginning of the 2019-2020 season, the Egyptian giants Ahly and Zamalek will be facing each other in order to play the 2017-2018 season s Egypt Super Cup one day before the beginning of the 2019-2020 season. Cairo stadium hosted many games during the recent Africa Cup of Nations including the opening and the final match between Algeria and Senegal on 19th July. EFA announced earlier that the stadium will host the Egyptian giants matches in the upcoming season after the maintenance work is finished.

After sacking the team s technical staff, Zamalek chairman Mortada Mansour announced Sunday that he will unveil the name of the new foreign coach by the end of this week. Zamalek management has sacked the team s technical staff headed by Khaled Galal after losing to Ahly 1-0 in the Cairo Derby and losing the Egyptian Premier league title. The Whites icon Tarek Yehia has been named as Zamalek s caretaker coach for one week until management concludes negotiations with a foreign coach to lead the team in the new season. Reports in Egyptian media claimed that Zamalek management is in talks with foreign coaches including Argentinean coach Ramon Diaz and Madagascar coach Frenchman Nicolas Dupuis. The reports also confirmed that Ramon Diaz, the former coach of Pyramids FC, welcomed the deal to coach Zamalek in the new season, however negotiations are still underway. "Zamalek s football supervisor Amir Mortada Mansour prepares to travel to one of the European countries to negotiate with another foreign coach," the club s president told a television programme last week. Zamalek finished second placed in the Egyptian Premier League, although the team won the Confederations Cup at the continental level. The White Knights still have the chance to fight for more titles, i.e. the Egypt Cup and the CAF Super Cup, to add to their title win against Masry in the 2018 Egyptian Super Cup.

Egyptian champions Ahly have a difficult test in front of them when they face Atlabara FC of South Sudan next week in the preliminary round of the African Champions League, according to assistant coach Mohamed Youssef. The Reds will host the South Sudanese champions in the first leg of the preliminary round of 64 on 11 August, while the return leg will be played in Egypt also on 24 of the same month. "The match will be a difficult one as the opponent is a mysterious team for us, so we ll work hard to study their weaknesses and strengths to get the best preparation," Youssef was quoted saying by Ahly s official website on Sunday. "Facing anonymous is always full of dangers, the technical staff eye the best preparations to avoid surprises. We respect all our opponents at both the domestic and the continental levels, and we enter all matches with full concentration.” "The first leg is very important for us. We want to win it and achieve a positive result ahead of the return match," he added. The return match will also be played in Egypt upon the request of Atlabara officials as their stadium is currently under renovations, and that will be in the sake of Ahly according to Youssef. "Playing both matches in Egypt is a positive thing for us as we will avoid the fatigue of traveling to South Sudan. So we want to get the best use of that to ensure our place in the next round early," the Ahly assistant coach Youssef concluded. Ahly, who recently clinched their 41st domestic league title, were eliminated from the quarter final of the Champions League last season after losing 5-1 on aggregate to South African side Mamelodi Sundowns.

After the Confederation of African Football (CAF) closed the players registration list late on Wednesday, Ahram Online combined the African squad of Egyptian Premier League giants Ahly and Zamalek ahead of their participation in the CAF Champions League. The Egyptian Premier League champions Ahly have signed three players during the ongoing summer transfer window including playmaker Mohamed Magdi, better known as Afsha coming from Pyramids FC, defender Mahmoud Metwalli who was signed from Ismaily and Malian attacking midfielder Aliou Dieng. Meanwhile, the leagues runners-up Zamalek also named all their newly signed players in the team s African squad including former full back Mohamed Abdel-Shafy, forward Karim Bambo who joined the team from Ismaily, Moroccan winger Achraf Bencharki and Moroccan winger Mohammed Ounajem. The next Champions League will be historic as an August-to-May season is introduced and the final is reduced from two legs to one match at a neutral venue. There will also be a record 14 previous winners involved, including eight-time trophy-holders Ahly of Egypt. The 2020 CAF Champions League preliminary round ties to kick off on 9 August as Ahly will face Atlabara FC of South Sudan while Zamalek will play Dekedaha FC of Somalia. Ahly 26-player African squad: Goalkeepers: Mohamed El-Shenawy, Ali Lotfi, Sherif Ekramy Defenders: Ramy Rabia, Mahmoud Metwali, Yasser Ibrahim, Ayman Ashraf, Mahmoud Wahid, Ali Maaloul, Ahmed Fathi, Mohamed Hany Midfielders: Aliou Dieng, Hamdi Fathi, Amr El-Sulaya, Hossam Ashour, Saleh Gomaa, Mohamed Magdy Afsha , Walid Soliman, Ahmed El-Sheikh, Hussein El-Shahat, Ramadan Sobhi, Geraldo da Costa, Junior Ajayi Strikers: Walid Azaro, Marwan Mohsen, Salah Mohsen Zamalek s 25-player African squad: Goalkeepers: Mohamed Awad, Mohamed Abo Gabal Defenders: Hazem Emam, Hamdi Nagguez, Mahmoud Alaa, Mohamed Abdel-Ghany, Mahmoud Hamdi El-Wensh , Mohamed Abdel-Salam, Mohamed Abdel-Shafy, Abdallah Gomaa Midfielders: Tarek Hamed, Ferjani Sassi, Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, Mohamed Hassan, Yousef Ibrahim Obama , Achraf Bencharki, Mostafa Fathi, Ayman Hefny, Mohamed Antar, Ahmed Sayed Zizo , Karim Bambo, Mahmoud Abdel-Razek Shikabala Strikers: Khaled Boutaib, Omar El-Said, Mostafa Mohamed

Zamalek President Mortada Mansour held a press conference on Wednesday at the White Knights club to announce the team s new arrivals. He introduced the return to the team s former full back Mohamed Abdel-Shafy from Saudi Arabia s Al-Ahli, and striker Mostafa Mohamed from loan at Talae El-Geish. He also introduced Ismaily s forward Karim Bambo, Maqassa s attacking midfielder Islam Gaber, Moroccan winger Achraf Bencharki coming from the Saudi Al-Hilal, and his fellow Moroccan winger Mohammed Ounajem coming from Wydad Casablanca. Mansour also announced that the Tunisian midfielder Ferjani Sassi, as well as the Egyptian national team stars Mahmoud Alaa and Tarek Hamed will stay with the Cairo giants, stressing that "they re not for sale." He also revealed that the team s winger, Ahmed Madbouly, will be leaving the team to join Ismaily SC. Mansour opened the press conference by attacking the former coach of the team the Swiss Christian Gross, accusing him of being the main cause for Zamalek s loss of the league title this season to archrivals Ahly. Earlier this week, Zamalek finished the season in second place eight points behind Ahly despite leading in the standings table for most of the season. "Gross lost the league by wasting points from easy matches, despite having [equally strong] players and substitutes in each position in the formation," said Mansour. Mansour refuted rumours that Zamalek former star Mahmoud Abdel-Razek Shikabala would be offered a managerial position in the team, but said the 33-year-old international winger would be joining the team s squad as a player in this upcoming season. Zamalek president also introduced the team s three new goalies: Mohamed Awad from Ismaily, Mohamed Abo Gabal from Smouha, and Mohamed Sobhy from Petrojet. Zamalek has been missing the services of their primary goalie Mahmoud Abdel-Rehem Gennesh , who suffered a serious injury earlier this month. Mansour sold the team s other two goalkeepers, Omar Salah and Emad El-Sayed, earlier in the week. After announcing the 10 new arrivals, Mansour explained that the team is still negotiating to hire a new coach and also sign more players. "There is a possibility of announcing one or two new signings today, but we didn t close those deals yet. The new coach will be a happy surprise for the fans," Zamalek president concluded.

Ahly announced on Tuesday the signing of Ismaily s defender Mahmoud Metwally on a five-year contract, according to Ahly s official website. "The deal costed Ahly 15 million Egyptian pounds, 10 million has been paid already, and 5 million will be in installments," Ahly Marketing and Football Contracts Director Amir Tawfik told Radio Hits on Tuesday. "We ve been watching Metwally for a while now. He s not only technically good, he also has great character," He added.

Ahram Online has collected reactions from players and the teams technical staff members following Ahly s 1-0 victory over rivals Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League s final round on Sunday. Despite a slow start for the season, Ahly were crowned league champions last Wednesday after beating Arab Contractors 3-1, but their victory against rivals Zamalek added more woes for the Whites fans. Ahly full back Ali Maaloul "Scoring in a derby against Zamalek is very important, and my goal is a gift to Ahly fans." "Defeating Zamalek is a magnificent closure for the Egyptian league competition." Ahly winger Hussein El-Shahat "Ahly s camp contributed to increase the positive aspects, and we achieved what we desired at the end." "The victory against Zamalek and winning the league is our gift to the fans. The future will be better and we promise the supporters to win the Champions League." Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawi "I m happy with my performance in the game. Now we will concentrate on achieving the African Champions League which is our main target for the upcoming period." "Ahly is a champion team, and beating Zamalek was important to raise the point difference." Ahly general coach Mohamed Youssef "Concentration is the secret behind our performance today. The players showed high levels of concentration and commitment." "Clinching the title comes in its best shape after defeating the arch rival, especially when initially we were very late in the league table. I congratulate the players, the board, and Ahly fans." Ahly football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz "Our comeback in the league was due to Ahly s character and history." "Egypt Cup is not a very important competition to the big teams, but this doesn t mean that we won t compete seriously. We will try to win the double." Zamalek goalkeeper Emad El-Sayed "I apologize to Zamalek fans for the mistake which caused the goal." Zamalek football supervisor Amir Mortada "The league s instability affected Zamalek negatively more than any other team."

Demoralized after allowing Ahly to snatch the Egyptian Premier League title from under their noses, Zamalek will be looking to restore their pride when they meet their foes in the Cairo derby on the final day of the season on Sunday. Ahly won the premier domestic competition for the fourth successive season on Wednesday after easily beating Arab Contractors 3-1, completing a remarkable comeback after they were written off by many at the halfway stage after falling eight points behind their rivals. Zamalek have only themselves to blame after a series of disappointing results in the second half of the season, including two consecutive draws in the final stage after they opted not to renew the contract of Swiss boss Christian Gross, handing the reins to rookie coach Khaled Galal instead. There is at least some room for consolation, however, when Zamalek meet Ahly at Alexandria s Borg El-Arab Stadium. Last season, Zamalek defeated the Red Devils 2-1 when the latter were already crowned champions. "Coach Galal asked the players to put the league loss behind them and focus consoling their fans by winning the coming game against Ahly," Zamalek said on their official website. Ahly would be also keen to assert their dominance and win the derby, with Uruguayan coach Martin Lasarte criticized by many fans for failing to prevail in any high-profile match since his arrival in January. The team played out a bore 0-0 draw with Zamalek in the first derby of the season in March, lost twice to big-spending Pyramids and drew twice with Ismaily. "I have the utmost confidence in my players that they can separate the league triumph from the match against Zamalek, which will still be special," Ahly s football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz said. "We are still motivated to win this game and finish the league in the best possible way." Zamalek will miss forward Youssef Ibrahim, who is serving the second of a three-game suspension. Ahly almost have a fully-fit squad to choose from.