Ahli is no stranger to the FIFA Club World Cup. The Egyptian Red Devils have participated in four previous editions (2005-2006-2008-2012) and qualified for their fifth this year after winning the African Champions League. With this year's qualification, Ahli equal the record for most participations in the tournament that was set by Auckland City of New Zealand. In the four previous participations, Ahli won the bronze medal once, ended up fourth another time, and came last twice. All of Ahli's participations in the tournament were in Japan. The Egyptian giant missed the two years it was held in the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and 2010. The Reds make up for that though this year by qualifying for the tournament for the first time outside of Japan and in an Arab country as the tournament will be held in Morocco. Ahli will no doubt be counting on the support of the Moroccan fans. A Moroccan newspaper, Al Montakhab, ensured that after reporting that the fans of Al Wedad, one of the biggest Moroccan teams, will be supporting Ahli throughout the tournament. Adding to that is how warm the weather is in Morocco compared to Japan, which is much more suitable for the Egyptians, it's clear that the team will play this tournament in a very comfortable atmosphere than what they used to play in before. Although this should make Ahli's mission easier, it will not likely be the case. The draw of the tournament has put the African champions against the champions of Asia, Guangzhou of China in the quarter-finals. Ahli had faced an Asian champion only once before. It was when they clashed with Ittihad Jeddah of Saudi Arabia in 2005. That game ended 1-0 for the Saudi team knocking Ahli out of the tournament. In the 2012 edition, the draw put Ahli face to face with the host team and champion of Japan, Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Despite playing on their territory, the Egyptians defeated the Japanese team 2-1. Ahli's goals were scored by Al-Sayed Hamdi and Mohamed Abu Treika. Looking at both results against Asian teams, it seems like it's 50-50 when Ahli clash with the Chinese dragon. Speaking of clashes, that's exactly what will be waiting for Ahli if the team gets by the Chinese. The two times Ahli qualified to the semi-finals, the team had to face the South American champions. The first time the Egyptian giant qualified to the semi-finals in 2006, it went head to head with Brazilian side Internacional. Ahli was defeated in that match 2-1. Last year, Ahli qualified again to the semi-finals to face another Brazilian team, Corinthians. That match also ended in Ahli's defeat 1-0. This year's edition of the FIFA Club World Cup is different. If the Egyptian team qualifies to the semi-finals, it will have to go head to head with the European champions, Bayern Munich. If Egyptian fans had hopes to win when their team played against the Brazilians, these hopes will definitely be much less if their team goes against arguably the strongest team in Europe nowadays. Munich has been sweeping its way through the season with its new manager Pep Guardiola. As an example of their dominance this season, Bayern recently beat their rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-0. Hopefully, Ahli doesn't face the same fate if the team falls in the path of the German giant. Ahli's coach Mohamed Youssef called up 24 players for the 2013 tournament. Three goalkeepers were chosen -- Sharif Ikrami, Ahmed Adel Abdel-Moneim, and Mahmoud Abu Saoud. Nine players will form the backline: Ahmed Fathi, Sherif Abdel-Fadil, Wa'el Gomaa, Saad Samir, Mohamed Naguib, Rami Rabia, Sayed Moawad, Ahmed Shedid, and Sabri Raheil. In midfield, Youssef chose Ahmed Nabil (Mango), Mahmoud Trezeguet, Hossam Ashour, Walid Suleiman, Shehabeddin Ahmed, Ahmad Shoukri, Abdullah Al-Said, and Mohammed Abu Treika. Four stirkers were added to the previous names on the squad sheet: Dominique da Silva, Emad Metaeb, Al-Sayed Hamdi, and Amr Gamal. The 2013 FIFA Club World Cup will be held from 11-21 December.
