In front of an ecstatic home crowd which filled the 86,000 seats of Borg Al-Arab Stadium in Alexandria on Sunday, Zamalek of Egypt beat RS Berkane of Morocco 5-3 on penalties to lift the African Confederation Cup for the first time in their illustrious history. RS Berkane had taken a 1-0 lead in the first leg. In the second game, defender Mahmoud Alaa scored from the spot 10 minutes after the break to send the game to penalties after a 1-1 tie on aggregate. In a nerve-jangling shootout, Zamalek scored all their five spot kicks, while Hamdy Laachir missed the first for Berkane to see the White Knights take the second-tier continental football club competition. Berkane ended the game a man down after Omar Namsaoui received his marching orders a minute from full time. It marked the first continental title for the five-time Champions League winners since they beat Morocco's Wydad Casablanca in the 2003 CAF Super Cup. Despite the fact that most of the spectators had been fasting on that Ramadan night, many travelled for hours to reach Alexandria. They were met with a number of checkpoints set up by security officials. Fans had to enter the stadium, Africa's second largest, five hours ahead of the match. Although the weather was hot and humid, they did not stop cheering and singing since the minute they entered the stadium, arguably one of the keys behind their team's victory. Zamalek's Swiss coach Christian Gross said he was happy to restore the glory days of the Cairo giants. Gross enjoyed his first title at the helm of a club that are chasing the domestic league and cup crowns which would give them an extraordinary treble. “We are all very happy, of course,” Gross said. “I'm happy for my players and also for the fans. We had a wonderful night. It's fantastic to play in front of a crowd like this,” Gross told the post-match news conference. “It has been a long journey since last December, which saw us play 15 matches. And we were hoping to end it in grand style with the ultimate prize. Everybody wanted to win to make their fans and the whole of Egypt proud. Eleven months ago, I could not have imagined that we will be playing in a final. It is a very emotional today.” The champions “I'm very happy with the cup,” Ahmed Abdel-Ghani, Zamalek's attacker, said. “The 1-0 loss from the first leg made us more focused on the game. This is a trophy Zamalek have never won, and we are happy to be the first generation to achieve this feat. It is a first African final for many of the players, but we were all keen on writing a new chapter in the history of the club.” “It was important to bring the giants back to their deserved place,” Gross added. He said his side now needed to immediately focus on the tasks ahead in the two domestic competitions. They will go top of the league with a one-point lead over perennial rivals Ahly should they win their rescheduled matches, having also reached the cup quarter-final. “The season is not finished for us. We need to go back to work tomorrow,” he added. Gross said that his contract with Zamalek ends by the end of May but that officials were discussing the issue of renewal “but up till now there is nothing clear and I will be happy to continue with the team to win both the league and cup.” Zamalek President Mortada Mansour, who has had a testy relationship with Gross, did not shake hands with him during the medals ceremony. But Mansour was very happy with the Confederation Cup and strutted around the pitch with the players hoisting the trophy. “I am very happy and I thank all my players for their manly performance during the match. Even though Tarek Hamed was injured he refused to be changed and kept bleeding and changing shorts but he went on to do his job. These are the Zamalek players that I know and I am very proud of,” Mansoura said in a post-match TV show. Amir Azmi, Zamalek's assistant coach, was in tears after the match. “It was a very tough season. We faced a number of obstacles and it was a very difficult season for us but I am grateful. I am sure this will give enthusiasm and insistence to the players to do their best to win the league title,” Azmi said. (photos: Reuters) RS Berkane players were naturally upset to lose the title after making it to the final for the first time in their history. The players were seen in tears while others refused to put on their consolation medals. Zamalek will pocket $1.25 million, compared to Berkane's $625,000. The White Knights will wait next weekend to know their opponents in the 2019 CAF Super Cup from the 2018-19 Total CAF Champions League final between Tunisia's Esperance and Morocco's Wydad. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw in Rabat. Egypt's Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi congratulated Zamalek for their “great achievement” and the “respectable attitude of their fans” who filled the stands. He said that this was a “positive sign” before the Africa Cup of Nations that Egypt will host next month. It was only the second time an Egyptian club had won the Confederation Cup. Ahly hold the honors for the maiden win against Sewe Sport of Côte d'Ivoire in 2014.
