Al Ahly Finish Sixth in Club World Cup

Oh, that was disappointing ...

Egypt's Al Ahly finished sixth at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan on Thursday after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Adelaide United of Australia.

Brazilian Cristiano scored a 25-yard screamer in the 7th minute to ensure that the African champions finish last at this year's tournament.

After stripping an Ahly defender of the ball, Cristiano rifled a right-footed blast from the top of the area past goalkeeper Amir Abdelhamid.

Mohamed Barakat had the best scoring chance for the Egyptians in the 83rd minute when he fired from 25 yards out only to have Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic make a brilliant diving save.

The six-time African champions were ragged and couldn't keep possession, but they woke up after influential Adelaide star Diego was forced off after 24 minutes with a knee injury.

His departure sparked the Egyptians into life and they had a series of chances to draw level, with Angola's Flavio getting another fine opportunity as the Egyptians pressed hard for the equalizer.

Ahly kicked off the second period with a new determination and dominated the opening 20 minutes but, as in the first half, their finishing was suspect and they failed to convert numerous chances.

Adelaide grimly hung on with goalkeeper and captain Galekovic rescuing them with a fine reflex save from Barakat as the clock ticked down.

The Egyptians came to Japan full of lofty ambitions, hoping to do at least as well as they had done at this tournament in 2006, when they finished third. Two years on, and the dream has turned into a nightmare.

"In Egypt, people think that Al Ahly are the best team in the world. We need to show some humility," said Ahly coach Manuel Jose after his team's second defeat. "Expectations are far too high, we need to be more realistic."

"Throughout the match, we didn't have enough scoring opportunities," said Jose.

"We were nervous and couldn't keep up with Adelaide."

"My players gave their all," added coach Jose. "They (Adelaide) played pretty well too, so the result was a little unfair. We could probably have played a little better, but the pressure was too great and my players just couldn't handle it."

Ahly star Gomaa felt his team owed the club's supporters an improved display should they qualify for the event once more: "It's a real disappointment for our fans, so I hope for their sake that we'll be back and that we'll do better next time."

Adelaide lost 1-0 to Japan's Gamba Osaka in the quarter-finals while Al Alhy lost 4-2 to Mexico's Pachuca.

European champion Manchester United defeated Gamba Osaka 5-3 in a semi-final later on Thursday.

The Red Devils advanced to face Ecuador's Liga de Quito in Sunday's final.

Al Ahly Crash Out of FIFA Club World Cup

Disappointment reigns for Egypt's Al Ahly this morning as the African Champions crashed out of the FIFA Club World Cup, losing 4-2 to Mexico's Pachuca.

Ahly took the lead through a Fausto Pinto own goal in the 28th minute.

Flavio then made it 2-0 with a goal on the counter-attack just before half-time, but Pachuca came storming back after the interval.

Luis Montes reduced their deficit on 47 minutes and Christian Gimenez curled home a free-kick after 73 minutes to send the game to extra time.

The Mexican team moved 3-2 ahead thanks to Damian Alvarez's smart finish in the 98th minute and Gimenez drilled home his second to secure victory.

Pachuca go on to face South American champions Liga de Quito of Ecuador in the semi finals.

The next match in the tournament sees Adelaide United facing Gamba Osaka on Sunday, with the winners playing Manchester United.

Afterwards, Ahly coach Manuel Jose said inexperience and the weight of expectation back home in Egypt was behind his team's defeat.

"We couldn't play our normal game. My players were under heavy pressure in our country and I think they felt heavy responsibility. My players are still not mature enough," Jose said after Saturday's defeat.

"They have not grown up enough as players. They lack experience in international competitions. I'm responsible," he added.

"We couldn't play our best in the first half and still we ended 2-0 at half time. But I can't accept the fact that a team like us loses a goal in only two minutes (into the second half)," said Jose.

"After that goal, Pachuca gathered momentum and started to fight back thinking they would be able to win. It caused us to lose another goal," lamented Jose.

Skipper Shady Mohamed said: "We could have won if the game was 45 minutes. We must think over why we couldn't keep the lead."

MY POV: Tough break for the Egyptians, who came in thinking they could do some damage in this year's tournament. Better luck next time.

Al Ahly Becoming Paranoid Before Club Cup Opener?

Al Ahly are in Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup and while they hold allusions of winning the tournament this time around, their anxiety is beginning to show.

Yesterday, Ahly coach Manuel Jose accused their first-round opponents, Mexico's Pachuca, of sending spies to their training camp.

"Three spies from Pachuca came to inspect our practice today," he said.

"It's not fair. We didn't watch their practice. It's not fair."

Jose stressed the importance of his team achieving a good result in their opening game.

"[Saturday's] game is the same as the final for Al Ahly and Pachuca," he said.

"The losers will go to a playoff for fifth and sixth places. It's a very important game."

Jose also stressed how difficult it is for teams outside of Europe and South America to advance in the tournament.

Days ago, he claimed his side were only aiming for third place in the competition.

"For the European and South American clubs, they just go to a third-place play-off even if they lose. They can reach the final by winning only one game. Anyway, we just go into the match thinking it's the final," he said.

Talking about their Mexican opponents, the Portuguese-based coach said, "Pachuca change their tactics quite often and they also want to have a better result than they did last year, but I think we are more comfortable, because we know each other very well and we have the same 3-5-2 formation."

Pachuca have not yet responded to Jose's spying accusations, focusing instead on gaining "revenge" after losing to Etoile last year.

"We believe in revenge," Pachuca's Argentine striker Bruno Marioni said.

"We are thinking about playing in a final against Manchester United. For now, we will fight this match in front of us as if it was a final." Honestly, we feel we lost for no reasons last year," Pachuca coach Enrique Meza added.

"We aim to take the first match this year, as a matter of course, and go still higher - up to the top spot."

The winners face South American champions Liga de Quito (LDU) of Ecuador in the semi-finals on Wednesday, with the victors in that match progressing to likely meet Manchester United in the final.

MY POV: Breathe in, breath out Mr. Jose! No need to get too crazy about this match!

It's evident that Jose and Ahly are taking this tournament very seriously. While that's understandable, the team needs to focus on the game and not on conspiracy theories.

Ahly is more than capable of making it to the final - provided they lay off the caffeine and RELAX!

Al Ahly in Club World Cup Adventure

Egypt's Al Ahly are now in Asia, ready to face the world's best clubs in the FIFA Club World Cup, the FIFA-sanctioned club world championship played every year in Japan.

Although England's Manchester United are favored, the reigning African champions have a ton of confidence.

*They recently won their record sixth African championship, beating Cameroon's Coton Sport 4-2 on aggregate.
*They're reigning Egyptian champions, winning the title the past 4 years and 33 times overall. *They're 35-time champions of the Egyptian Cup.
*And in 2000, they were named the African Club of the Century by the Confederation of African Football.

They're doing quite all right, I'd say.

This week, Ahly hopes to show the world what they're made of. Ahly have qualified for the Club World Cup three times and this time, they hope to advance and win the championship.

At a press conference in Egypt before their departure, the team brimmed with confidence.

Ahly club chairman Hassan Hamdi said, "These are the glory years of Al Ahly, whose name is now carved within the world's best teams. The staff have done a brilliant job. We are now eager for more. The club officials and fans are confident the team can show more progress this time."

Portuguese coach Manuel Jose says the team is highly ambitious.

"This year there is huge responsibility because everyone expects us to go further than the third place we achieved in 2006, which was also an improvement from the previous year in 2005, when we lost our two games and came last. We dream of winning the cup, and we are working on making the dream a reality."

"The players shouldn't be under pressure. They should just concentrate on the ball and on achieving their goal. It is not going to be easy and we will have to fight. We will display our best because we want to show the world that Al Ahly is a world-class team, a team capable of competing against the world's elite clubs and for the title as well."

(Having said that, take a look at this quote from England's The Daily Telegraph attributed to Jose: "For an African club to finish third in this competition resembles winning the title," Portugal-born Ahly coach Manuel Jose said.

"We will do our best to represent Africa and Egypt well, but our supporters must be aware there is a big gap between football in South America and Europe and football in Africa. Winning the Club World Cup is an impossible task for now. We need more time to achieve that goal."

Hmm ... )

Ahly captain Shady Mohamed admitted the players are determined to make an impression. "This team have achieved many unprecedented achievements, like winning the African Champions League six times and qualifying for Japan three times," he explained.

"So we need to prove to the world that we deserve to be among the elite, and that we are the best representatives for African football. We want to reach the final and hope we can return home with the title. We need to focus more on our first game. Winning our opener will give us more confidence to progress in the competition until we win it."

The hopes of the Cairo giants rest at the mercurial feet of Mohamed Aboutrika, who thrilled audiences at the 2006 edition of the Cup. However, the 30-year-old insisted his side's chances hinge of the players' collective performances. "Football is a team sport, no one can play alone," he said.

"I'm not the star of the team - the team is the star, that's what Mr. Jose tells us. I don't care about individual achievements because only team achievements remain in the memory of the fans, and I'm part of the team."

Ahly's path to the final looks kind of easy.

Should Ahly see off the challenge of Mexico’s Pachuca in the first round, they will play the beatable Ecuadorian side Liga Deportiva Universitaria (LDU) de Quito in the semifinals, just one step away from a likely meeting with Manchester United, Europe's reigning champions.

The tournament runs from December 11th to December 21st. The Cup's contested between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations, although, since 2007, the champions of Oceania must play a qualifying play-off against the champion club of the host country.

Ahly's been in the tournament three times.

The first trip in 2005 proved a major disappointment as they lost 1-0 in the quarterfinals to Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad, before succumbing 2-1 in the fifth-place play-off to Sydney FC. The following year they did much better, finishing the competition in third place.

They beat New Zealanders Auckland City 2-0 in the quarterfinals, before losing out 2-1 to the eventual winners, Brazilian club Internacional. They ensured the competition would be deemed a success, however, when they clinched third thanks to an excellent 2-1 win over Club América of Mexico.

Besides Ahly, this year's Cup features Manchester United; Mexican club Pachuca, who have won the last two editions of the CONCACAF Champions League and Ecuadorian side Liga Deportiva Universitaria (LDU) de Quito, champions of South America.

Japan's Gamba Osaka, winners of the 2008 AFC Champions League will represent the J-League, while the losing finalists, Australia's Adelaide United, will also be there to represent Asia.

The line-up is completed by the OFC Champions League winners Waitakere United of New Zealand. Matches are played at three venues in Tokyo, Toyota City and Yokohama.

For a break-down of the match-ups, please click here.

What does ESPN's Soccernet.com think of Ahly's chances?

Al Ahly (Egypt; Africa/CAF)
Who are they? Africa's most successful club, the Egyptian side dominated last year winning the league and African Champions League double. Portuguese coach Manuel Jose has now led the club to four of their six Champions League successes and the club boast a number of players who have starred for Egypt in their back-to-back African Nations Cup wins. They are also nicknamed 'The Red Devils' and came third at the tournament two years ago.
Captain? Shady Mohamed. The sudden departure of goalkeeper and former skipper Essam El Hadary to FC Sion shocked the club, but Mohamed has the experience and toughness to succeed in the position. A quick central defender with outstanding fitness, he will have to be at his best to get Al Ahly into the finals.
Player to watch? Mohamed Aboutrika. The outstanding performer of the 2008 African Nations Cup, Aboutrika runs the midfield with his creativity and skill on the ball. Providing a potent goalscoring threat from behind the strikers, if "The Smiling Assassin" is on top form then his club could go far.
Prediction? Semi-finals.

Good luck Ahly! We here at Road to 2010 are pulling for you!!!