CAIRO - Al-Ahly football director Sayyed Abdel-Hafiz has admitted that his team's friendly match against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich Saturday night will not be an easy clash, stressing that the players will do their best to present a good performance to make all the Egyptians proud of them. "Bayern Munich are a world-class team, and putting in minds the difference in abilities between both sides, yet AL-Ahly players will do their best to present a good game that please the fans whether attend or see the game all over the world," said Abdel-Hafiz. He pointed out that the fixture is an important step for the team in the framework of global games the team played with an international teams each period. Bayern Munich, who now leads the German Premier League table with 37 points, reached Doha in Qatar last Monday for eight-day winter training camp before resuming the second half of the German league. The Bundesliga giants will face African champions Al-Ahly Saturday night at 7:30pm (Cairo local time) in Doha. Then the German giants will fly to face the Indian national team on January 10 in New Delhi. "The players have persistence and determination to strive to make a good suitable show swollen the African pride, as they represent Africa now in this friendly game," Abdel-Hafiz said, adding that the game was nothing more than a friendly match. The German titans Bayern Munich stunned Al-Sailiya of Qatar 13-0 in a friendly game Thursday night in Doha. Arjen Robben, Mario Gomez and Thomas Müller netted for the Bavarians before half-time, before Ivica Olic hit five, Nils Petersen and Franck Ribéry claimed a brace apiece, and Diego Contento scored another in a one-sided second period. The Red Devils arrived in Doha last night as the team will return home tomorrow and will start preparation for their Wednesday clash against Military Production in the 13th week of the Egyptian Premier League. Al-Ahly crush El-Geish 3-0 Al-Ahly stunned El-Geish 3-0 in the 12th week of the League matches played on Thursday night thanks to goals from Ahmed Fathi, Mohamed Naggi "Geddo" and Mohamed Abou-Trieka. The win puts Al-Ahly in second place with 26 points, and they have a postponed game against Wady Degla. El-Geish remained in 13th with only nine points. The Red Devils striker Emad Meteab and defender Sherif Abdel-Fadil were ruled out of the clash because of injury. "Although the team are suffering from many injuries, our substitutes were as good as the regular players and they proved themselves," the team's football director said after the game. Abdel-Hafiz explained that the players were concentrating from the beginning of the game to please their fans and grab the victory. "The superior performance is the only factor that brought victory, and there were instructions for the players not to lift the ball, and pass it on the ground, to make the lines of the team close," Abdel-Hafiz said. “The players will be rewarded an extra bounces for their high performance,” he added. Al-Ahly assistant coach Mohamed Youssef said that he is delighted with his team's victory, stressing that the Red Devils are going to get even better. "Coach Manuel José da Silva asked the players to enjoy playing and to scoring goals early as soon as possible, the thing that achieved early through Ahmed Fathi and led to the flowing in the performance during the rest of the match," Youssef explained after the game. "After they had scored the first goal, the team's technical coach asked the players to press hard in midfield for more and this is achieved," Youssef added.
Experts praise Ahly coach Soccer experts have praised Al-Ahly's players and José for their performance against El-Geish. "The players presented one of the best games for the team since the start of the season, and the tactics made by da Silva was good," Taha Ismail said. He explained that the Portuguese coach started the game with a good line-up and the good method that lead to easy victory. "The team controlled the game from start to finish," Ismail added, explaining that the players made the most of three of the many chances they had. Zakaria Nassef, another soccer expert, stressed that decentralisation is the main key for this wonderful performance and then grabbing the three points of the game. "The players were moving from one place to another, the matter that opens gaps for players to scoring. Besides, the players were very determined to achieve victory from the beginning of the match," said Nassef, adding that the Red Devils really deserved that victory. Nassef explained that the coach was wise to bring on Barakat, as one player have the experience to control the ball and can change the result anytime. Magdi Abdel Ghani, a former Ahly star and another soccer expert, agreed that the team really deserved the victory. "The team's two wingers, Ahmed Shedid and Ahmed Fathi, did very well, creating a lot of chances for their team-mates,” said Abdel Ghani, pointing out that the lines of the team were very organising and close to each others.
Police, Hodoud, Ismail win Police Union defeated El-Dakhlia 1-0, thanks to a goal from midfielder Mohamed el-Fayoumi. Police Union are now in 2nd place with 24 points, while El-Dakhlia are 19th on five points. Zamalek held to a 1-1 draw against Petrojet. The result puts Zamalek in fourth place with 20 points, while Petrojet remained in 12th with 10 points. The goals of the match, played in Suez the Stadium, came from the Benin striker Razak Omotoyossi, while Petrojet netted through striker Marwaan Mohssen. Harras el-Hodoud extended their winning streak to nine games as they overcame El-Talefounat 3-2 in Alexandria thanks to goals from el-Hodoud's Ahmed Eid, Ahmed Hassan Mekki Ahmed Salem and Ahmed Abdul-Ghani as Moustafa Mehana and Ahmed Shoukri scored for El-Talefounat. El-Hodoud are now on the top of the League table with 28 points, while El-Talefounat remained in the 11th place with 12 points. Tareq el-Ashri, el-Hodoud's coach, is understandably delighted with this result. "The match was very tough. I want to thank the players for this great win," he said, pointing out that El-Talefounat have a talented team and coaching staff. "We always aim to score goals, even if we have to concede one or two," el-Ashri stressed, adding that the fitness of the players and the changes he made had paved the way for the win. "This win boosted the morale. Although there's still a long way to go, my players are capable of winning the League. We were missing injured players, but the others proved themselves.” Meanwhile, Enppi beat Smouha 2-0 thanks to goals from striker Ahmed Raouf. Enppi are now in 10th place with 12 points, while Smouha are in 17th on seven points. Ismaili defeated the Military Production 2-0 thanks to goals from Nigerian striker Godwin. Ismaili are now in 5th place with 20 points, while Military Production are in 15th on eight points. Misr Elmaqasah (MCSD) stunned El-Mahalla 5-1 thanks to goals from Fouad Salama (2 goals), Omar Nagdi (2 goals), Ivorian Ouzo Konan, while striker Saad Mando scored for El-Mahalla. Al-Ittihad of Alexandria beat Arab Contractors 2-1 thanks to goals from Moustafa Karim, while Mohamed Salah scored for Arab Contractors. Al-Ittihad are now in 9th place with 15 points, while Arab Contractors are in 16th on seven points. El-Masry defeat Gouna 1-0 due to the goal by midfielder Elliaso. The victory puts El-Masry in 8th place with 16 points, while Arab Contractors are in 7th on 16 points.
