Ahli and Sfaxien are to meet in the final of the African Champions League. Inas Mazhar reports from Tunis The final of the African Champions League is to feature two Maghreb countries, CS Sfaxien of Tunisia and Egypt's Ahli as they clash for the biggest club trophy on the continent, plus the largest African club purse, $1 million in prize money. The first-leg match will be played in Cairo Stadium between 27 and 29 October, while the second-leg is in Tunisia between 10 and 12 November. The reigning champions Ahli and Sfaxien met twice in the group stages of this year's tournament. Sfaxien won 1-0 at home while Ahli gained three crucial points with a 2-1 triumph in Cairo. The Tunisian side finished their Group A on top, ahead of Ahli, which is why the second-leg match of the final will be played on their home ground. Ahli's lost to Sfaxien was their first in Africa in two years. Sfaxien officials are thinking seriously of moving the final from the city of Sfax south of Tunisia to Stade de Rades in the capital Tunis to help ensure a better spectator turn-out. "The stadium in Sfax which hosted the semi-final can take up to 12,000 spectators which will not be enough for the final match," Mohamed Merdassi, vice-president of the Sfaxien supporters club, said. "But in Rades, the stadium can hold more than 60,000 spectators, just like Cairo Stadium. "It would be great to have it in Rades," Merdassi said. "There are thousands of Sfaxiens who work in the capital, so playing there would give them a chance to see their team. They usually travel from the capital to watch the local games and sometimes they can't get in because it is so crowded. However, it's also unfair for the local fans who can't travel with the team. Being here, it would be good for the squad to celebrate the victory of the cup in their home city. It would mean a lot to them." Sfaxien reached the final after defeating the Orlando Pirates of South Africa 1-0 on Saturday in the second-leg semi-final. The first-leg match, held in Johannesburg, ended scoreless. In Al-Taieb Al-Meheiry stadium in Sfax, top scorer Tarek Al-Ziadi made an impressive comeback as he scored his team's only goal 39 minutes into the game. Al-Ziadi, who missed the first--leg because of suspension, saw the ball rebound in off his legs from a spill by Pirates' goalkeeper Avril Phadi, who failed to hold onto a long-range angled shot from Joetex Frimpong. "I'm glad I scored and made the people happy. We are glad to be in the final and we will do our best to win the cup," Al-Ziadi said. It was the first time Sfaxien reaches the final of the Champions League and the third straight year that a Tunisian club makes it to the final, following two consecutive appearances by Etoile Sahel, who lost on both occasions. Sfaxien supporters celebrated the victory by touring the city on foot, in cars and buses carrying the black and white flag of the club. They marched and sang on the streets and some headed to the hotel where the Orlando Pirates were staying but were stopped by the police who blocked both sides of the street and rerouted traffic to prevent the public from getting too close to the hotel. "I'm happy we qualified. It's not always that you make it to the final of the Champions League," Mourad Al-Mahgoub, Sfaxien's head coach said. "It is a great achievement for us. It is the first time we are in the final and we are really looking forward to it. "Now we have to prepare for the final match seriously because it is a different game. For me, playing against Ahli or ASEC is no problem because if we qualify for the final this means we deserve to be there and should not be afraid of any team," Al-Mahgoub said before the result of the Ahli-ASEC game. Head coach of the Orlando Pirates Micho Serodojvic of Yugoslavia told reporters after the game that they were unlucky to lose the match. "We played very well but as anybody who knows anything about African football will tell you, playing on the grounds of the home team, in such a fantastic atmosphere of enthusiastic supporters, would make it very difficult for the visitors to win. "The Sfaxien supporters were player number 12 on the field. They definitely gave their team the confidence to win," Serodojvic said. "Drawing 0-0 in Johannesburg made it harder for us here. The Sfaxiens are a strong team and I knew the return of their two players, defender Al-Merdassi and top scorer Al-Ziadi, would make a difference to the team, and it did, as Al-Ziadi scored his team's only goal. "The changes made in the midfield by the Tunisian side, together with the defenders, strengthened their back line which made it very difficult to find any opportunities in the box so we depended on the long balls," Serdojovic said, adding that Sfaxien deserved reaching the final and wished them the best. Despite losing to ASEC Mimosas 2-1 in Abidjan, Ahli also made it to the final by winning the semi-final 3-2 on aggregate. The Red Devils had won the first leg in Cairo 2-0 two weeks earlier. The defending champions and a four-time winner of the African competition, were fortunate to reach their second consecutive Champions League final after a tough game in the capital of Cote d'Ivoir with more than 50,000 spectators supporting their local team. Fasting -- game time began just as the fast was broken in Egypt -- and the high humidity did not help matters for Ahli. The home side wasted a number of opportunities, with striker Vincent Die Foneye particularly profligate. Astonishingly, he failed to hit the target once when presented with seven clear-cut chances. Yet Dider Ya Konan did know how to find the back of the net, scoring two second-half goals to overturn Ahli's opening strike after 39 minutes. Angolan forward Flavio, his drought for goals finally over, opened the score for Ahli, heading home a right-wing cross from Islam El-Shater to give Ahli a 3-0 aggregate lead. Ahli could have made their afternoon easier had not Mohamed Abou-Treika and Emad Miteb both spurned good opportunities. But with the frenzied support from the local fans, ASEC turned the match around in the second half, dominating the game as they went in search of the four goals needed to win the tie. Konan brought the score level on the day when heading home Alli N'Dri's cross after 58 minutes. Sixteen minutes from time, Konan converted Foneye's cross to score his eighth goal of this Champions League campaign. Yet Foneye's inaccurate finishing let Ahli off the hook and several Egyptian players were kissing the ground in celebration at the final whistle. Ahli now have a shot not only at the tournament's prize money but to play in the world championship for clubs in Japan. Ahli played in that event last year, losing to Ittihad of Saudi Arabia. A fifth Champions League trophy would tie Ahli with cross- town rivals Zamalek for most tournament victories.
