In the wake of Ahli's stunning loss to Tunisia's Etoile du Sahel, Inas Mazhar asks whether the result will lead to a comeback or the downfall of the African club of the century The winner of the $1 million prize money in the African Champions League, the Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel, was reborn here at Cairo International Stadium on Friday. Sweeping Ahli of Egypt 3-1 in front of a full house, the defending champion and the five-time winner of the championship was forced to bow to Etoile as the new African champion, winning as they did the trophy for the first time after three failed attempts. It was a remarkable finale for the young men from the coastal city of Sousse who received the trophy from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. They had won everything in Africa -- a clean sweep of CAF titles which included winning of the Cup Winners Cup and CAF Cup twice and the Super Cup and Confederation Cup once -- except the Champions League. On the other hand, Ahli were seeking two records: a third consecutive title and sixth overall but the early second-half dismissal of defender Emad El-Nahhas turned a match the Egyptians were poised to win. Etoile took the lead in first-half stoppage time through Afouene Gharbi only for El-Nahhas to equalise five minutes into the second half of a thrilling final watched by a capacity 50,000 crowd. Needing to score again under the away goal rule (the first leg ended 0-0 in Sousse) Ahli laid siege to the Etoile goal before El-Nahhas turned from hero to culprit when he was shown the red card by outstanding Moroccan referee Abdel-Rahim Al-Arjoun. Ahli never regained their momentum with 10 men and survived a few scares before Amine Chermiti put Etoile ahead for the second time two minutes into stoppage time and Mohamed Ali Nafkha added a late third. So, Etoile du Sahel will represent Africa at next month's FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 and could be playing in an all-Tunisian final at the Super Cup if Tunisian counterpart Sfaxien beat Sudan's Al-Merrikh in the final of the Confederations Cup In Sudan in the first leg, Sfaxien won 4-2. The Super Cup is scheduled to take place during the weekend of 22-24 February on the home ground of the winner of the Champions League title, which means in Sousse. Millions are asking why Ahli lost the title. Why did this 100-year-old club fail to win a record sixth champions league title plus an unprecedented third in a row? Is Ahli tired, bored or has winning become tiring? The answer could be all three. It's true, the players are extremely tired and exhausted. They have been playing for three years non- stop, sweeping every national and regional title on the way, including the national league, the FA Cups, the FA Super Cups, the African Champions League title and the African Super Cup. Eleven titles were collected in these three years, in addition to making history by representing the continent in the FIFA World Cup in Japan the last two times, finishing third last year. Head coach Manuel Jose had desperately fought to allow the key players to rest, but the tight schedule of Ahli constantly denied Jose such an opportunity, and whenever his wishes were met, the team's international players were summoned by the national team. The issue of getting bored or not being hungry enough for titles because you have so many is dubious. Can any team really become bored of winning? May be the fans can become so, but not the team. Winning should whet your appetite for more. But it could lead to over-confidence, the fact that you are unbeatable or untouchable. Could that be true in Ahli's case? They had certainly reached a point where they couldn't believe they would ever lose. But it had happened, actually months earlier, when they started losing in the national competition and in the group stages of the African Champions League. But losing some matches on their way to the final destination didn't seem to matter as long as they claimed the trophy in the end. Definitely the club and its officials knew that one day they would lose but were obviously not prepared for it when it eventually arrived. It's not only the team that wasn't prepared for such a day; the club's fans were unprepared to accept defeat. But their reaction to the defeat was different. While Ahli players mourned their loss, some sobbing, crying, others stunned and wrecked, they nevertheless remained silent and ascended the main tribune to receive their silver medals from the head of state. The violent reaction came from the fans, the elite in particular, those who were seated in the front tribune paying the expensive tickets, those who accompanied Ahli on all their trips abroad. They insulted the players and their technical staff. They overstepped the limits when they attacked the winning team, the guests, as they were climbing the stairs to claim their trophy and on their way down to celebrate the victory. Some journalists shared in insulting and beating some of the winning team players, just because they were celebrating. Etoile deserved to win They had the ambition to beat the giants on their home ground. Egyptian fans should have applauded them and shared in their moment of celebration just as the Tunisians did last year when Ahli beat Sfaxien in the Tunisian capital in the last minute of the match of the same competition. Neither some controversial non-penalty decisions by Al-Arjoun nor the humiliating margin of defeat for Ahli can justify the violent reaction seen that night, which though came from a minority, nevertheless marred the image of all Egyptians. It is apparent that some fans need to be taught the culture of defeat and how to deal with it. How will Ahli, the big establishment that it is, deal with the defeat? Will they make an impressive comeback next year or will they surrender to journalistic and public analyses all over the continent that this is the end of the era of an old team whose history and experience can no longer challenge young and ambitious clubs? One fact is certain. The future is E'toile's. They have proven that they are the best, that youth can beat experience. Unless Ahli can prove otherwise.
