Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt exports first high-tech potato seeds to Uzbekistan after opening market    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi calls for boosting oil & gas investment to ease import burden    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    58 days that exposed IMF's contradictions on Egypt    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Today we are not united
Published in Daily News Egypt on 04 - 03 - 2006

CAIRO: Good news for people in a hurry. This evening, sometime between 6-9 p.m, you ll get where you want to go in no time because of the unusual emptiness of the city s perpetually bustling streets. Ahli and Zamalek will be at it again and only those coming from Mars will not be watching the derby, either live or at home.
For the record, Ahli and Zamalek have met 95 times, Ahli winning 32 of the encounters, Zamalek 24. There have been 39 ties. Zamalek is in first place in the league with 35 points, one ahead of Ahli, which has three games in hand.
But this is not just about Egypt s best two teams. The rivalry is the national divide. Every Egyptian, and quite a few not from this country, has a preference, from supporters who would kill to lukewarm observers from afar.
The rivalry is rooted in history. Ahli and Zamalek games have been Egypt s and one of the Arab worlds most anticipated since the league championship kicked off in 1948. It was in October that year that the two clashed for the first time, with Zamalek going ahead through Said Rostom and Abdel-Karim Saqr before Ahli pulled two goals back through Ahmed Mekawi and Saad Osman. They ve been at each other s throats since.
Player magician Hussein Hegazi and a diplomatic row over Palestine began what would become fascinating match-ups. Hegazi, a member of the Egyptian team that took fourth place in the 1928 Olympics in Rome, was a genuine football sensation. He started his career with Ahli (then known as the High School Students Club) and was the talk of the town with his amazing abilities in the game that was introduced to Egyptians by British occupiers the previous century.
The genius of Hegazi, who was Egypt s first soccer export, joining the English Dulwich Hamlet football club in 1911, was one reason for Ahli s immense number of supporters. When he moved to Zamalek (then Mukhtalat), in the 1920s, many of Hegazi s fans switched allegiance, backing Zamalek instead. It was this switch that is alleged to have been the catalyst in the derby, each team vowing to win the country s best players onto its side.
It was not until 1944 that the roots of the rivalry had taken hold. That year, Ahli traveled to Palestine for a friendly match despite opposition from Egyptian officials who suspended the team s players upon their return to Cairo. The suspension lasted until the final match of the cup, which pitted Ahli against Zamalek. Ahli s rust showed and they were drubbed 6-0, the most lopsided score in the derby.
By 1966, the encounters had become so touchy that foreign referees with unbiased whistles were resorted to for the first time in league history.
But the rivalry not only sustained but also has intensified. Ahli fans burnt the place down in 1971 when a controversial penalty was awarded Zamalek. The game was abandoned and so too was the rest of the season following riots.
Then there was the five-minute game in 1998 when Zamalek protested a red card and abruptly walked off the field, calling it a day.
The derby has taken a social connotation of its own, with many stories ranging from quasi-comical to tragic. One father refused to give his beloved away to an Ahli suitor because the family tree was wrapped in the exclusively Zamalek red and white colors (apparently, the father is also a big fan of George Bush s you re-either-with-us-or-against-us motto).
Some domestic disputes ended in worse fashion. A few years back, a man, distraught that his Zamalek had lost to Ahli, killed his wife after she brought him a watermelon as an after-game treat. When he cut the fruit in two and found it was red just what did he expect? He thought his wife was teasing him so he extracted the knife from the watermelon and plunged it into her as well. Such are the family feuds on derby day.
An Egyptian feature film hit the jackpot last summer by making use of the fierce competition between Ahli and Zamalek. Sayed El Atefy (Romantic Sayed) topped the box office in Egypt after attracting thousands of Ahli football fans because it made fun of archrivals Zamalek. Star Abla Kamel appears as a taxi driver and a big Ahli fan who sings sneering chants which ridicule the heavy defeats Zamalek have received from Ahli in recent years.
But that s entertainment. Both clubs have created a Cold War atmosphere; a détente has never been signed. Yet we understand Ahli club has suggested that the supporters of both teams should today mingle as one in Cairo Stadium - instead of being separated as is normally done - so that the atmosphere is akin to the warm ambience that glowed in the Africa Cup of Nations. But who s kidding whom? In the African cup we were all united, all rooting for the same team. But today, patriotism stays home. The African cup fused the country; Ahli and Zamalek pull the nation apart. Let s leave naiveté in the dressing room. Ahli and Zamalek is a time to remember differences, not similarities.
There is good and evil in every football game. Ahli and Zamalek is no exception. We will cheer and we will jeer.


Clic here to read the story from its source.