Videos From the African Final

Here, some cool videos about the African Champions League final between Al Ahly and Coton Sport.

The first is a video from Cameroon showing the atmosphere around the stadium before the 2nd leg, played yesterday.



The second is of the penalty that clinched the championship for Ahly. Enjoy!

Al Ahly Coach Jubilant in Victory

Al Ahly coach Manuel Jose is beyond happy that his side won their record sixth African Champions League this weekend with a 2-2 draw against Cameroon side Coton Sport.

Their 2-0 win from the first leg in Cairo clinched the tie for them in the end, earning Ahly a 4-2 victory on aggregate and a third African title in four years.

"It's fantastic," Jose told BBC Sport.

"Now Ahly is the only club ever to win six Champions Leagues, and now we hope we're going to win the African Super Cup."

Ahly play the winners of the Confederation Cup in the African Super Cup in February.

In the meantime they face an even bigger challenge as they attempt to improve on their last showing at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

The Egyptians travel to the tournament in December for the third time and will seek to better their bronze medal finish in 2006.

Still basking in Sunday's win, Jose also paid tribute to Coton Sport, after the Garoua team put up a strong fight over the two legs.

"Coton Sport made a very good match [of it]. In Cairo we had a fantastic match, and could have scored four or five goals, but didn't. So we came here, scored a lucky goal through Ahmed Hassan, then conceded a stupid goal. When they scored the second goal [my team] was scared about [conceding] a third goal, but I have very experienced players.

"So congratulations to Coton Sport but I think we deserved to win."

Coton Sport Alan Oumbleon paid tribute to his own team's efforts and said the experience of reaching their first final will make his players hungry for more success.

"It was wonderful to reach this final for my team, for my players, for the club and for the fans," he said.

"So now we know how wonderful it is, we want to reach this level every year."

He also conceded, however, that he will find it difficult to hold onto some of his best players after they attracted attention during their impressive march to the final.

"They deserve to go outside [Cameroon] because they have succeeded in playing very good football during this competition," he said.

Oumbleon also said his biggest challenge in the short term will be to try to motivate his players to return to playing in the Cameroonian national league.

From next weekend they will turn out in front of considerably smaller crowds than the estimated 20,000 at the Omnisport Stadium in Garoua on Sunday and the 70,000 at the Cairo International Stadium.

"It will be very difficult because they are used now to playing against great clubs in big stadiums with a lot of people and now we will play in a bad stadium, with a bad field.

"But our players will want to reach this level again."

MY POV: Hopefully the experience of playing in the Final will motivate fans to come out to watch Coton.

Besides that, can Ahly improve on their performance from a few year's back at the Club World Cup? They'll represent Africa just fine ...

Al Ahly Win 6th African Championship

Congratulations to Al Ahly, who won the 2008 African Champions League this morning, defeating Cameroon's Coton Sport 4-2 on aggregate, drawing 2-2 in today's match.

The victory gives Egypt's Ahly their record 6th title, the most of any club in African continental football.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Cairo a fortnight ago – where goals from Wael Gomaa and Flavio separated the teams – Manuel Jose’s side were always favorites to win their third Champions League crown in four years. But Ahly weathered a persistent 2nd-half storm from Coton to hold on to the game.

The Egyptians dealt Coton’s slim hopes of a comeback a grievous blow in the 38th minute when, on the counter, Ahmed Hassan flicked home a goal with the outside of his right foot following a short-corner routine between Gilberto and Mohamed Aboutrika.

The Egyptian’s goal stunned Coton and hushed the previously boisterous and optimistic home crowd.

However, Coton drew level on the stroke of half time when Karim Abdoul fired in a low shot from just inside the penalty area after great work from striker Kamilou Daouda.

Just past the hour mark Baba Ousmaila capitalised on the utter dominance of Coton and made it 2-1, heading into an empty net after a great set piece from the hosts.

But Ousmaila and Daouda were guilty of spurning several great chances for Coton, who could have won the game by a landslide and pulled off an almost miraculous comeback had they been more composed in front of goal.

Al Ahly skipper Shady Mohamed sealed the title for his side in the final minute of injury time, scoring from the penalty spot to make it 2-2 after Andre Ndame had pushed over Mohamed Barakat.

The Egyptians will go on to represent Africa at the FIFA Club World Cup at the end of the year.

Congratulations, Al Ahly! Enjoy your championship!

Al Ahly-Coton Sport 1st Leg Goals

For your viewing pleasure, Al Ahly's two goals against Coton Sport in the first leg of the African Champions League final last week.

The second leg is tomorrow ... should be a good one!! Enjoy!

African Champions League Winds Down

The eyes of the football world turn to Cameroon this weekend and Sunday's second leg of the African Champions League final between Egypt's Al Ahly and Cameroon's Coton Sport.

Ahly, five-time African champions, won the first leg in 2-0 in Egypt.

Now, Coton Sport will look to contain the Egyptian juggernaut at home.

Coton captain Ahmadou Ngomna wishes his side hadn't come into the first leg scared of their opposition.

The Cameroon side’s defense let in two early goals (3rd and 15th minute), but managed to hold off the Red Devils for the remainder of the match and still have a shot of claiming their first continental title.

"I think we gave Ahly too much respect, and it affected our start," Ngomna told Camfoot.com.

"After the first 30 minutes we started regaining our confidence and Ahly suffered enormously when we did."

Ngomna will not play in the second leg in Garoua on November 16 after picking up a yellow card and an automatic one-game suspension.

"I'm really gutted that I won't be available for the home game as it was a very harsh yellow card to receive.

"However, I'm sure we can still overcome the two-goal deficit in Garoua where the team will be playing at home and without too much pressure."

Meanwhile, Coton Sport coach Alain Ouombleon expects his side to perform a whole lot better in the home leg.

"The result is not acceptable, but we will avenge our loss in the return leg," he said.

"Ahly are dangerous at set-pieces, but we didn't show caution and conceded two goals as a result."

Meanwhile, Ahly know they're stepping into a cauldron come Sunday.

Coton have not been beaten in African competition at home since 2002 and have not conceded a goal at their own stadium during this campaign.

"We all know that a tough mission is awaiting us," assistant manager Hossam Al-Badri told Ahly's official site.

"We will have a difficult 72-hour journey, the atmosphere will be tense and our stay will hardly be comfortable. Nonetheless, we are determined to win the title.

"There is a state of optimism among the players and the technical staff, we know our fans are eager for the trophy, and so we want to make them happy.

"Coton are a very ambitious side playing at home, but our players have experience and they are capable of facing the difficult circumstances.

"They just have to be focused on their mission without paying attention to the surrounding atmosphere."

Ahly will claim a record sixth African championship should they hold out for the aggregate win, while Coton Sport want their first.

Coton's story has certainly garnered it's fair share of attention.

Today's BBC has a wonderful interview with Pierre Kaptene, former club president.

Kaptene saw the club rise from a social club to African finalists, so his view of the situation is enlightening.

"It's a dream [getting to the final] but we don't want people to think that if we lose we are not happy - for us being in the final is a fiesta," Kaptene said.

"If we can win it will be the cherry on the cake. I didn't think we could get this far so quickly because when you see the best teams in African football they have been around for 40 or 50 years or more.

"We are very young, so it's like a fairy story that we are in the final. But we won't stop here - better things are to come."

Take a look at the story here. It's a sweet read.

Also, journalist Richard Ferris of football365 from South Africa wonders why people have written off Coton's chances in the 2nd leg.

Although Coton have as much continental pedigree as Mohamed Aboutraika's big toe, the champions of Cameroon have proved that they can compete with Africa's best. That is not to mention that Manuel Jose's team are far from infallible.

A quick perusal of Coton's scalps through the current Champions League campaign is telling. Alain Ouombleon Guedou's side ended two-time African champions JS Kabylie's hopes of progressing into the group phase of the competition before beating Nigerian giants Enyimba and last year's semi-finalists Al Hilal.

The Garoua-based outfit then brought to an end Dyanamos' fantastic run in the tournament - and lest we forget the Zimbabweans beat defending champions Etoile Sahel. ...

African football journalists also appear to have very short memories. Surprisingly few hacks remember Ahly's absymal performance in last season's Champions League final which saw the Cairo giants surrender meekly to Etoile.

A good read and well worth the time ...

African Final Preview: Al Ahly-Coton Sport

Tomorrow's first leg of the African Champions League final is a classic case of David v. Goliath.

On one side, we have the expertise and experience of Egypt's Al Ahly, who are chasing a record-breaking sixth Champions League title and playing in their fourth successive final.

On the other, we have Cameroon's Coton Sport, who didn't even exist when Ahly were just beginning to win titles.

Coton reached the league phase for the first time this year and have gone on, against all expectation, to advance to their first final.

The club was only founded in 1986, and ascended into the top flight of Cameroonian football in 1993. By that time Al Ahly had already won one continental championship and three straight African Cup Winners' Cups.

Rarely has there been such a gulf in experience between two teams contesting the final of the continent's showpiece club competition, but it is not an unrealistic mismatch. Indeed Al Ahly's hopes of establishing new landmarks for the African game will be under severe threat from a Cameroonian side who have grown in confidence and ability as the competition has unfolded over the year.

Al Ahly stumbled at this block last year against a team they were heavily favored against.

Considered certainties to overtake fellow five-time winners Zamalek of Egypt after forcing a 0-0 first-leg draw at Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia last year, Ahly came horribly unstuck at home to lose the second leg 3-1.

Angry home supporters then vented their fury by hurling missiles and abuse at the Ahly players when they collected their runners-up medals.

But a year later Ahly are back in the showpiece of African club football against opponents no one outside the dusty north Cameroon cotton town of Garoua gave a chance of going so far.

Al Ahly host Sunday's first leg in Cairo seeking a decisive advantage to take to Garoua, in the arid north of Cameroon, where the second leg is to be staged on November 16. But coach Manuel Jose says it is ironic that his team fare better away from home, freed from the burden of expectation imposed by their passionate fans in the Egyptian capital.

The Portuguese, who has been at the Al Ahly helm for their last three Champions League triumphs, said on the eve of the game: "Away from home, when we are not under pressure, we perform well. But at home there is a lot of pressure from the supporters."

Al Ahly know it is vital to win the first leg and take an advantage to Garoua, where they have never played before and will find conditions to be tough.

"Ahly have the best footballers in Africa so we should go for a win whenever and wherever we play," continued their coach. The Egyptians are still sweating over the availability of captain Ahmed Hassan and Angolan winger Gilberto, who sat out their last league game to avoid aggravating a groin problem.

Here's where another disparity exists between the two sides.

Ahly supplied five Egyptians and two Angolans for the 2008 African Cup of Nations while no Coton Sport footballer made it to Ghana.

Ahly superstars like silky midfielders Mohamed Aboutraika and Mohamed Barakat and Angola-born goal predator Flavio Amado are instantly recognizable far from their Cairo base.

But no one outside Cameroon and his native Niger knew of Daouda Kamilou until his seven-goal haul in the Champions League this year lifted a veil of international obscurity.

Coton Sport Franco-Ivorian coach Alain Guedou is upbeat about his team’s chances.

“We have the keys to success. We will fight as much as we can to win the title, but I believe we are not far from achieving our objective,” he said.

But there is no shortage of confidence in the Coton Sport side. Baba Ousmaila , who was Man of the Match as the team warmed up for the final by beating Aigle Dschang 4-2 in the Cameroon Cup Final at the weekend, says the players are ready to make history.

“The victory over Aigle was important, but it is now in the past for us,” Baba told the club’s official website.

“All the players can think of now is the Champions League final.

“We know Al Ahly are a very big club and a very good team, but now Coton Sport’s time has begun. This is the moment we will gain our first Champions League trophy, we all firmly believe that.”

After a rather slow start in the group phase of this year’s competition, they stepped up their challenge with their home ground, the 35,000-capacity Stade Omnisports Roumde-Adja, proving to be a fortress. It was there that Enyimba and Power Dynamos met their Waterloo.

Coton Sport have already made history as the first club from that country to reach this stage of the competition since 1980 when the famous Canon Yaoundé won the last of their three titles.

They made easy work of Power Dynamos in the semi-finals by winning 5-0 on aggregate. After snatching a lone goal victory in Harare, they showed they were truly at home by spanking the Glamour Boys of Zimbabwe 4-0 in the second leg.

Coton Sport have dominated the Cameroonian scene since 1997.

They owe their rise to the top of the African football pile within such a short time to solid funding and organization.

Founded in 1986, they reached the final of the now redesigned CAF Cup in 2001 and have posted eight appearances in the Champions League with their best outing coming in 2004 when they got to the third round of the elimination series.

They have won the Cameroonian league nine times and were consecutive winners the past five years. They have also lifted the FA Cup four times in the last five years, winning their latest just this past weekend.

Besides parading several Cameroonian players, they also have on their books players from Niger including first-choice goalkeeper Kassaly Daouda and 20-year-old striker Kamilou Daouda. Kamilou is the team’s leading scorer in the Champions League and both he and his compatriot are already top transfer targets with the goalkeeper reportedly on his way to Turkey.

Besides that, they have a very special supporter in Cairo for their game, none other than Indomitable Lions legend Roger Milla.

Milla won worldwide acclaim back at the 1990 World Cup in Italy when he led Cameroon to the quarterfinals, scoring four goals along the way, before returning in 1994 as a 42-year-old for a less successful tournament in the USA.

His appearances in the United States World Cup made him the oldest man to feature at a World Cup finals.

So what happens now? Let's find out and see! Should be a good one no matter what.

Al Ahly Advance to play Coton in African Final

So it's Egypt's Al Ahly against Cameroon's Coton Sport for the African Champions League title.

Al Ahly ... they're pretty successful, eh? They're in the final courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Nigeria's Enyimba on Saturday.

The five-time champions beat the Nigerian side by the same aggregate score after Angolan Flavio headed home compatriot Gilberto's corner after 26 minutes.

The lead was no less than Al Ahly deserved after opening the scoring after 14 minutes only to see Mohamed Barakat's goal wrongly disallowed for offside.

Bidding to reach their first final since 2004, two-time champions Enyimba rarely troubled the Egyptian defense.

'The People's Elephant' arrived in town with all eyes on striker Stephen Worgu, the leading Champions League scorer with 13 goals this season.

He is reportedly being chased by Al Ahly yet only threatened their backline once, when wriggling past two defenders before driving an angled 15-yard shot wide after 70 minutes.

Enyimba struggled to create chances, playing well until the final third where their quality deserted them, and Al Ahly keeper Amir Abdelhamid did not have a shot to save until the 55th minute.

On the other hand, Al Ahly largely dominated, creating a multitude of chances which would have made for a less tense evening.

Mohamed Aboutreika was the first to threaten after 11 minutes, his acrobatic volley from near the penalty spot bravely headed clear by Enyimba defender Uga Okpara.

Fifteen minutes later, Flavio scored the only goal of the two-legged semi-final as he lost his marker before glancing home Gilberto's corner from 6 yards.

Al Ahly's lead should have been doubled after 34 minutes, but Ahmed Sayed somehow failed to connect from two yards out when a cross was knocked across the face of the Enyimba goal.

Eighteen minutes from time, Aboutreika wasted another chance to extend Al Ahly's lead, volleying another fine cross from Gilberto horribly over from close range.

Al Ahly, who will be in the final of Africa's premier club tournament for the eighth time, become only the third side to reach four straight finals.

Al Ahly are bidding to win a record sixth title, currently boasting five trophies - the same as bitter Cairo rivals Zamalek.

Coton Sport reach African Champions League final

We haven't blogged about the biggest continental competition in Africa, the African Champions League, for some time. Here's an update ...

Cameroonian side Coton Sport became the first Champions League finalists from Cameroon in 28 years after destroying minnows Dynamos of Zimbabwe 4-0 on Saturday in Garoua.

The home side advanced on a 5-0 aggregate thanks to their 1-0 win in the first leg of the semi-final clash in Harare two weeks ago.

Coton Sport had a great start with Sebastien Koua scoring just one minute after the kick-off to double the aggregate advantage. The goal lifted Coton's hopes of emulating compatriots Oryx Douala, Union Douala and Canon and conquering Africa.

Dynamos recovered to have the edge territorially in the first half but the 'Harare Glamour Boys' could not score.

When Jacques Zoua added a second Cotons goal seven minutes after half-time the 1998 runners-up realized their great run was coming to an abrupt end.

Any doubt about the outcome was dispelled on 65 minutes when Niger national team striker Daouda Kamilou scored his seventh Champions League goal this season, a feat bettered only by teenage Enyimba striker Stephen Worgu.

Baba Ousmaila claimed his fifth goal of the competition 14 minutes from full-time as Dynamos wilted under constant pressure, with goalkeeper Willard Manyatera saving the Zimbabweans from a heavier loss.

The first leg of the final will be staged in Cairo or the south-eastern Nigerian city of Aba over the weekend of October 31-November 2 with the return fixture in Garoua two weeks later.

The other semifinal pits Egypt's Al Ahly and Nigeria's Enyimba.

The game is evenly poised at 0-0 following the first leg in Nigeria two weeks ago.

Apart from a one-million-dollar first prize, the African champions qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup during December in Japan, where Manchester United will be among the contenders.

New African Soccer and the Champions League Semis

I know, I know. I promised 31 straight days of posts and what happened?

Anyways, I'm here.
As you know, I also write for New African Soccer magazine.

What is that? According to the site:

New African Soccer Magazine is the only monthly English language magazine and ezine dedicated to African football.

We provide all the news and views, twists and turns of the beautiful game from an African perspective. As the football world turns towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa we want to show how much Africa has to offer, from the Premiership superstars in England and the biggest leagues in Europe to the vital grassroots of the African leagues.

We have experienced correspondents throughout the world and we deliver exclusive interviews, contributions from star players, intelligent discussion and all the latest news and views from club and international football in Africa.

Good stuff, I promise.

I wrote a piece about the African Champions League semifinals for the site's blog, which I will post here as well.

Please make sure to check out the magazine. It is chock full of information and better yet, it's free! And I write for it!!

Here's the article ... I'll be back with more tomorrow.

Zimbabwe's Dynamos Harare are the surprise package in the semifinals of the African Champions League, continuing their Cinderella run to the title with a 1-0 victory over Zamalek of Egypt on Sunday.

Substitute David Shoko scored in the 88th minute to give Dynamos the victory in Harare and set up a semi-final clash against Coton Sport of Cameroon next month.

The win lifted the Zimbabwean side to nine points from six matches, three more than Asec Mimosas of Ivory Coast, who finished third after a 2-2 draw with Group A winners Al Ahly.

The last 8 teams in the Champions League are split into two groups of 4. The winner and runner-up of these groups advance to the semis.

Dynamos' match was briefly under threat, as their players walked out of camp on Saturday ahead of Sunday's game against Zamalek because of a bonus row.

The players were demanding 3 million Zimbabwean dollars each but due to a daily cash withdrawal limit of 1,000 dollars per person in the inflation-racked country, club officials could not pay the players on time.

Eventually all was settled and Dynamos dominated the match, with Zamalek goalkeeper Abdelwahad al-Sayed making a string of fine saves.

Al Ahly made sure of their qualification a few weeks back when they defeated Dynamos in Harare, creating an unassailable point gap between themselves and the other group members.

Nigerian club Enyimba FC of Aba narrowly advanced as they suffered an embarrassing 3-0 destruction from neighboring Cameroonian side Coton Sports on Saturday.

The result should have put the former two time champions out of contention, but TP Mazembe failed to defeat Sudanese club side Al Hilal in Khartoum. Both sides played out a 2-2 draw ensuring that they both crashed out of the competition.

Coton Sports will face Dynamos Harare in the first semi-final pairing, while tournament favorites Al Ahly will face Enyimba FC in the second semi-final encounter.

The latter is undoubtedly the clash that will garner the most interest, as both teams hold the most wins in the competition now.

The first leg of the semi-finals come up October 3-5, while the second leg comes up a fortnight later.

The winners advance to a two-leg final with the victors collecting US$1m and an invitation to the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

Egyptian Derby: Al Ahly v. Zamalek

African football often gets pushed aside in the international footballing press.

It's either too foreign to most journalists or not interesting enough for their tastes.

That's one reason today's piece about the Al Ahly-Zamalek derby in the Guardian was such a pleasure to see.

The article doesn't paint the most flattering image of Egyptian football, the reigning kings of Africa. It describes senseless violence, nationalism and a deep hatred between the clubs.

But it also exposes what football means to many people: an escape from the hum-drum of every day life.

As many of you know, Al Ahly is the most successful club in African football. They've won the last four league titles (33 in all), two of the last three African Champions Leagues and enjoyed a record-breaking 55 match unbeaten run.

Zamalek are pretty successful themselves, having also won 5 African Championships (tied with Al Ahly for most on the continent).

Reporter James Montague braved the insanity to cover the most recent contest between the two squads, which is set to be contested again this weekend in the African Champions League group stages this weekend.

Not that he wasn't dissuaded from going. Upon arrival to the Cairo airport, a cherry taxi driver asked where he was going. When told he was off to the derby, the driver said "Do not go. You will be killed."

Heady stuff indeed. To read the article, click here. Here's a free sample.

When I arrived at the Cairo International Stadium, it was clear the authorities weren't taking any risks. The concourse leading to the stadium was swamped with black-clad riot police and plain-clothes officers, randomly hauling out supporters and taking them away to be searched. It felt more like temporary, localised martial law than a football match. Inside, Ahly's Ultra group was already in fine voice, hours before the kick off.

"Ahly was the first ever [football club] to be 100% Egyptian so it is very nationalistic but Zamalek has changed their name so many times we sing: 'You used to be half British, you guys are the rejects'. In Arabic it's the plural of 'Small dirty houses,'" explained Asad, the organisation's leader. "The two biggest political parties in Egypt are Ahly and Zamalek. It's bigger than politics. It's more about escapism. The average Ahly fan is a guy who lives in a one bedroom flat with his wife, mother-in-law and five kids. And he is getting paid minimum wage and his life sucks. The only good thing about his life is that for two hours on a Friday he goes to the stadium and watches Ahly. That's why it is such an obligation to win every game. It makes people's lives happy. We are probably the only club in the world where we [the fans] expect to win every single game."

Etoile du Sahel are African Champions!

Congratulations to Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, who minutes ago wrapped up their first ever African Champions League title, defeating two-time defending champion Al Ahly of Egypt 3-1 on aggregate!

Etoile scored three times in Cairo, becoming the first team to score in the Egyptian capital in this Champions League campaign.

Etoile took full advantage of a red card issued to Ahly defender Al Hass midway through the second half. Etoile will represent Africa in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan next month.

Disappointment will be high at Ahly, who would have won their record third consecutive Champions League title with a victory.

Congratulations to the new champions of Africa: Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia!!

African Champions League Final

The African Champions League Final is upon us!

The first leg of the biggest continental competition in Africa takes place this Saturday, with Tunisia's Etoile du Sahel challenging defending champions Al Ahly of Egypt.

Let the battle begin!

Etoile coach Bertrand Marchand called Ahly a 'lucky' team ahead of Saturday's clash.

The two sides meet in Sousse and the Tunisians are keen to avenge defeat in the 2005 final, which Ahly won on a 3-0 aggregate.

"Ahly depend too much on luck and experience and will need more than that when facing us," Marchand said.

"The key Ahly players are midfielder Mohamed Aboutraika and striker Emad Moteab and if we stop them, they will be easily contained and we can definitely claim the trophy."

Marchand considers Al-Hilal, the Sudanese club Etoile defeated 4-3 in a two-leg semi-final thriller, a much better team than the Egyptians, who relied on an own goal to edge Al-Ittihad of Libya at the same stage.

"I watched Ahly against Ittihad and they suffered to succeed. Hilal are much better than the Egyptians," he revealed. Talk about fanning the flames ...

Aware that Etoile flopped against Ahly two years ago using overly cautious tactics home and away, Marchand vowed to unleash a three-man strike force against their opponents, who are chasing a record third consecutive Champions League title.

His likely choices are Tunisian Amine Chermiti, leading Etoile scorer in the competition this year with seven goals, three-goal Cape Verdian Gilson 'Ja' Silva and Ghanaian mid-year signing Sadat Bukari.

All are young, quick and slick, and capable of troubling an Ahly defense long on experience but short on pace when brutally exposed 3-0 away to Hilal in the mini-league phase.

"Winning the African Champions League would be a dream," Chermiti said.

"We have a solid squad and wonderful supporters and I cannot accept failure again after losing two of the previous three finals."

Etoile were pipped on penalties by Enyimba of Nigeria in the 2004 decider.

The club from the Mediterranean resort of Sousse have won every Confederation of African Football (CAF) competition except the Champions League.

They also want to end a losing streak by Tunisia in the showcase of African club football as CS Sfaxien had victory snatched from their grasp last year when Aboutraika struck a stoppage-time winner in Tunis.

Good luck to both squads and may the best team win!

Al Ahly-Etoile in African Final

Congratulations to Al Ahly of Egypt and Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, who both advanced to the African Champions League final this weekend.

Etoile were the first to advance on Saturday, 3-1 over Sudan's Al Hilal.

The Sudanese won the first leg in Omdurman 2-1, meaning Etoile needed only a 1-0 home victory on Saturday to go through, thanks to their away goal.

Amine Chermiti put the Tunisians on the road to the final with the first of two headers after 13 minutes.

And the score remained 1-0 throughout the rest of the first half.

Early in the second half, though, there was a flurry of goals.

Saber Ben Frej got the better of a goal mouth scramble to put Etoile 2-0 up on the night.

But three minutes later, Hilal's Nigerian striker Ndubuisi Ezei got one back for the visitors, to make it 2-1 in Sousse, and level at 3-all on aggregate.

It was his eighth goal of the Champions League campaign.

The prospect of extra time loomed.

Not for long though, as Chermiti struck his second of the night on 63 minutes to take Etoile 3-1 ahead on the night, up 4-3 on aggregate.

But Hilal only needed to level the match with a second away goal to go through, and as the clock ran down they pressed and pressed.

A sequence of free kicks from just outside the Etoile area peppered the home side's goal.

But the Tunisians held on and they go through to their fifth consecutive continental final, and their third Champions League final in four years.

Over to Al Ahly, who edged past Al Ittihad 1-0 in Cairo on Sunday to reach the final.

The Egyptian club will now be looking to win their third consecutive title after they qualified for the final 1-0 on aggregate, after the two sides drew 0-0 in Libya two weeks ago.

The only goal of the game came after 20 minutes when Hilal's Hesham Shaban headed into his own net as he tried to clear a cross from Angola's Gilberto.

The final is a repeat of 2005 final that Ahly eventually won 3-0 on aggregate.

The first leg of the final will be played in Sousse in Tunisia on the weekend of October 26-28 and the second leg two weeks later in Cairo.

Good luck to both squads!

African Champions League Semifinals

It's here. The biggest continental competition in Africa celebrates its semifinals round, one more game to go before the grand final.

Saturday's African Champions League semifinal between Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia and Sudan's Al Hilal will produce a landmark result - whatever the outcome.

If Etoile can overcome their 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Omdurman, they will be in their fifth consecutive continental final. They won last year's Confederation Cup and they were beaten finalists in the Champions League in 2004 and 2005. In 2003 they took the now defunct African Cup Winners Cup.

If Hilal win, they would cap a remarkable year for Sudanese football.

The national side has reached the Nations Cup finals for the first time in three decades, and Hilal's club rivals Al Merreikh have all but secured a place in the final of the Confederation Cup.

Etoile feel good going in. They scored an away goal in Sudan. A 1-0 victory at home sends them to the Final.

"The first leg puts all the pressure on the Sudanese," striker Gilson Silva told BBC Fast Track on Thursday.

"They will be compelled to score at least once, as we did ourselves."

"They know that staying in defense will be catastrophic for them."

Etoile had a disappointing build-up to the game, with a 1-1 draw by US Monastir in the Tunisian league last week, but they are boosted by the return of defenders Mehdi Merieh and Saber Fradj.

The pair missed the first leg because of injury.

Hilal have amassed an impressive array of wins over the course of this Champions League campaign.

They have thrown off ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast, Esperance of Tunisia and Zamalek of Egypt, among others. Not too shabby.

Also, they will welcome back their key midfielder Rtshard Justin Lado for the game. Sounds like an enticing contest.

Over in the other semi-final, defending champions Al Ahly need a goal to get through on Sunday.

After squeezing out a 0-0 result in Tripoli a fortnight ago against surprise semifinalists Al Ittihad of Libya, the champions will look for the death blow away.

The 'Red Devils' will be highly dissappointed should they underrate the Libyans, who have been in superb form in their maiden campaign at this stage of the competition.

The aggregated winners advance to a two-legged Champions League final.

The first leg will be played in either Sudan or Tunisia on the weekend of October 26-28th with the return match in Egypt or Libya on the weekend of November 9-11.

I hope I can watch them here in the States.

Al Hilal Start African CL Semis With 2-1 Win

A quick update on the African Champions League first leg semifinal between Al Hilal of Sudan and Tunisia's Etoile Sahel from our friends at Reuters.

Nigerian pair Ndubuisi Eze and Kelechi Osunwa handed Al Hilal of Sudan a 2-1 home win over Tunisia's Etoile Sahel in their African Champions League semi-final first leg on Friday.

Eze struck his seventh goal of the competition in the 61st minute before the unmarked Osunwa headed in a cross from Al Hilal's third Nigerian import, Yusuf Mohamed, five minutes later.

Etoile, trying to reach their fifth African club competition final in as many years, had taken a first-half lead after a poor clearance from Hamuda Bashir allowed defender Radhouene Felhi to score from close range.

A 1-0 win in the return leg next month would take Etoile through on away goals.

On Sunday, Al Ittihad of Libya host holders Al Ahli of Egypt in their semi-final first leg.

Al Ahly Scrapes Towards History

The biggest club competition in African football continues this weekend with the first legs of the semifinals of the African Champions League.

First off, Al Ittihad of Libya take on defending champions Al Ahly from neighboring Egypt in Tripoli on Sunday. The Libyans have already upset the script by reaching the final four in their first year of participation in the group phase since the format of Africa's top club competition was changed 11 years ago.

Al Ahly are seeking to set new standards for the continent's annual club competitions.

No club has won the Champions League three times in a row.

Ahly are chasing the distinction this year and, at the same time, hoping to win Africa's top club title for a record-breaking sixth time.

The Egyptians have had a tough week of preparation with a derby match against arch rivals Zamalek on Monday, which they won with a first-half goal from Mohamed Aboutrika.

The other semi-final sees Al Hilal of Sudan vs. Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia.

The semi-final second legs will be played on the weekend of October 5th.