Cairo rocked when Ahli became king of Africa. Inas Mazhar reports on the game and the ensuing expressions of joy The 3-0 victory of Egypt's Ahli over Etoile Sahel of Tunisia set the streets of Cairo into riotous celebration on Saturday with youths dodging between screaming traffic with the red colours of Ahli flying from car windows. The excitement was for several reasons. The team had just won the African Champions League for the fourth time in its history, cashed $1 million in prize money, qualified for the World Clubs Cup and extended its unbeaten run to 52 games. It was Ahli's fourth Champions League triumph after lifting the trophy in 1982, 1987 and 2001. From the Military Stadium in Heliopolis -- where the final was played before a capacity crowd of 25,000 -- to Ahli club in Gezira, around 20 kilometres, Ahli supporters lined up to shout for joy. They crowded in circles, dancing to live and taped music and exploded fire crackers. Those caught in the ensuing traffic jams in some major squares in the city did not seem to mind. Cairo's inhabitants in the denser parts of the capital probably spent a sleepless night because of the noise. Stadium supporters had started arriving from 11am (game time was 8pm) and showed no signs of fatigue despite hour upon hour of pre-game enthusiasm. Almost everything in the stadium was red, the colour of the Ahli jersey, except for the police officers who wore black uniforms. The win also allowed Ahli, Egypt's largest club, to equal bitter city rivals Zamalek's unbeaten run of 52 matches. Ahli's next match is against Misri in the league. The first leg of the Champions League had ended in Sousse 0-0. The second and decisive leg was predicted to be a defensive contest as well. It was 19 tense minutes into the final match when Mohamed Abou Treika sent a long range effort some 35 metres that dipped through the air before the ball struck the back of the net. Ahli added two more goals after the break, finishing in convincing fashion for a 3-0 aggregate triumph over an Etoile side that had not lost a Champions League match since the preliminary knockout round back in April. Seven minutes into the second half, team captain Osama Hosni netted a header to score his team's second goal and the crowning touch could not have been more appropriately scripted as Mohamed Barakat made it 3-0 two minutes into stoppage time. Etoile had silenced the crowd by coming out of their defensive shell they played in the first leg in Sousse. "We wanted to snatch the opening goal. That would have turned the game to our favour," said Etoile's assistant coach Stephane Gilli after the match. "Before the game, we told our players to concentrate, attack and snatch an opportunity to score. If that had happened Ahli would have collapsed even with all these fans. But we weren't lucky. "We warned our players that if they had scoring opportunities and lost them, they would lose. "Ahli are the strongest team in Africa now. They deserve winning the African Champions Cup. The whole team was perfect. They are so disciplined I can't say which players are the best because they are all good. But of course Barakat is Ahli's key player. "Anyway, we will continue playing in the Tunisian league and hope to reach the final of next year's tournament," Gilli said. It was the second year in succession the Tunisian club had reached the final of the African Champions League. Last year, they lost to Enyimba of Nigeria in a penalty shootout. Manuel Jose, Ahli's head coach, admitted in a press conference following the match that Ahli was a bit nervous at the beginning. "It was the first goal that pushed the players forward and gave them confidence. I knew then that we were the winners. I have always been confident of my players' capabilities. "I have been saying for a long time that Ahli are the strongest team in Africa. We have the most talented players in the country. Even when there were doubts we would win the title because of that scoreless first leg result in Sousse, I said everywhere that we will win. I was confident of my players." Jose said he had told the players, "Just go out there and show the world your best, play normal football and win. They did and I'm glad." The Portuguese was at the helm when Ahli last won the Champions League four years ago. Then, Ahli beat Sundowns of South Africa by the same score, 3-0, in Cairo following a scoreless first leg. Jose's assertion that Ahli are indeed the best in Africa could be tested sooner than expected with their participation in the FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup. Ahli are grouped with the Saudi team Ittihad Jeddah, representing Asia, and Sao Paulo of Brazil, representing South America. Ahli's opening match is against Ittihad. "It is not going to be easy," Jose said. "It will be very tough. We will play against the best teams in the world. Some we know, of course, like Liverpool. Sao Paulo is very far, so we don't know anything about them. We'll see. "But I'm not worried about that now. We need to do good there but what's more important now is the league championship. We want to win it again this year. We want to maintain our unbeaten record. As for Japan we will start preparing two weeks before the event." The one-week event is scheduled to take place in Tokyo from 11 to 18 December. Other clubs will be Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica, representing Central America, Sydney FC of Australia and Oceania and England's Liverpool representing Europe.
