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Champions League Final: Treika-inspired Ahly seek revenge against Esperance Ahly, welcoming back inspirational playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika, host Esperance on Sunday (17:00 GMT) in the first leg of the African Champions League final
Ahly's inspirational playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika will be looking to haunt Tunisians once again when his side host title holders Esperance in Sunday's African Champions League final first-leg, an anticipated fixture between the bitter foes. Abou-Treika's memorable last-gasp winner against Sfaxien in 2006, which gave Ahly a remarkable Champions League triumph, is still fresh in the memory of the Red Devils' faithful who will have the chance to watch their team from the stands for the first time since February's Port Said disaster. The veteran schemer's two-month suspension ends in a timely manner as Ahly seek to exact revenge over an Esperance side who knocked them out of the previous two editions of Africa's elite club competition. Esperance, who will make their third consecutive appearance in the Champions League final, beat Ahly on the away-goal rule following a controversial 2-2 aggregate draw in the semis in 2010 before eliminating them from the group stage last year. Abou-Treika was banned by Ahly for skipping an Egypt Super Cup game against ENPPI in September to stand by die-hard fans (Ultras Ahlawy), who demanded that their team withdraw from all domestic competitions until the perpetrators of Port Said's disaster, which left over 70 supporters dead, are brought to justice. “I'm very happy with the support I received from coach Hossam El-Badry during that (suspension) period,” Abou-Treika, a cult figure among Ahly's fans, told reporters last week. “He stood by me and I have to thank him for the efforts he exerted for me and the team. We are fully ready for the Champions League final, we are focused on fulfilling the dream of winning the title.” Up to 15,000 Ahly supporters are allowed to attend the match at Alexandria's Egyptian Army Stadium in Borg El-Arab district after authorities had partially lifted a crowd ban that has been in place since the country's worst football tragedy. However, members of Ultras Ahlawy, who are consistently acclaimed for creating feverish atmosphere inside stadiums but vilified for rioting and some off-pitch troubles, are unlikely to show up, having said they would boycott any football matches until a verdict is delivered in the notorious Port Said saga. Mind games The build-up to the game witnessed an exchange of words between both sides, spicing up a potential heated encounter between the North African rivals. Ahly coach El-Badry said he was worried over possible refereeing mistakes in the final, recalling an infamous goal by former Esperance striker Michael Eneramo in the 2010 semi-final second leg. The Nigerian frontman used his arm to score an illegitimate goal that grabbed headlines and incurred the wrath of El-Badry, who was in charge of Ahly at the time before making way for Portuguese manager Manuel Jose. El-Badry further escalated tensions before Sunday's final after implying that the Tunisians could receive a favourable treatment from the referee because Tunisian Tarek Bouchamaoui is in charge of CAF's refereeing committee. Esperance football director Riadh Bennour accused the 52-year-old of playing mind games. “Everyone talked about the Eneramo incident at the time. My worry over refereeing does not mean that I'm hurling accusations against anybody,” El-Badry said. “Every team must defend its rights. And our right is to have a fair referee.” Esperance have suffered a blow few days before the match after playmaker Youssef Msakni was ruled out of the game after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Thursday. Msakni, who provides much of Esperance's spark, will be joined on the sidelines by his brother Iheb, leaving Cameroon's combative striker Joseph Yannick Ndjeng as the only reliable frontman at the disposal of coach Nabil Maaloul. An almost full-strength Ahly will only miss left-back Sayed Moawad, who sustained a foot injury. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/57051.aspx
