CAIRO - Zamalek finished the preparations for their match in round 32 of the African Champions League (ACL) with Africa Sports of Côte d'Ivoire in Cairo Sunday at the Military Stadium behind closed doors at 7pm (Cairo Local Time). Zamalek's technical coach Hassan Shehata ruled out the participation of the players Ahmed Hossam 'Mido', Mohamed Ibrahim and Ahmed Samir for several reasons. "Mido is excluded because of an injury," explained Ismail Youssef, the White Knights' general coach. Youssef explained that Mohamed Ibrahim got excluded for disciplinary reasons; Ibrahim had objected inappropriately to the coaching staff's choice concerning the Haras el-Hedoud friendly match on Tuesday. Zamalek's recent friendlies were cancelled for security reasons based on an Interior Ministry decision. But the coaching staff decided to play a secret friendly last Tuesday with Haras el-Hedoud, defeating them 3-2. For Zamalek, the Africa Sports game will be the second and last match played behind closed doors due to a CAF penalty imposed on the White Knights last season, which was caused by their fans rioting during the ACL match with the Tunisian club at the Cairo International Stadium. The second ACL leg will take place on April 8 at the Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. "Mido is experiencing bad luck. The moment he's ready to participate in a game he gets injured again. The team's doctor advised him to have a break," Youssef added and confirmed that the coaching staff had full confidence in the strikers Amr Zaki, Ahmad Gaafar, Benin Razak Omotoyossi and Mahmoud Abdel-Razeq 'Shikaballah' to compensate for Mido'd absence. “The team is ready for the difficult match on Sunday," Youssef said, stressing that the opponent was a good team led by talented coaching staff. Zamalek, the five-time African champions, qualified for round 32 of the ACL when winning against the Young Africans of Tanzania in round 64 with 1-0 in the second leg, thanks to a header by striker Ahmed Hossam 'Mido'. According to White Knights sources, coach Shehata focused in the last training session on the players' long crosses and direct shots to strike at Africa Sports defenses. "Shehata stressed the necessity of shooting at the opponent's goal from all over the pitch and from different angles," a source said. The same source added that Shehata instructed the wingers to master their crosses and contribute to penetrating the Ivorian defense from the very beginning. Zamalek defender Hani Saied thought that the game with Africa Sports would be difficult. "The Abidjan-based side is very organised and has talented coaching staff," Saied said and pointed out that Zamalek's perseverance and termination were big enough to win the current stage of the ACL and get the tournament's title. "The fans' absence will undoubtedly affect us, but we have the stamina to rise above this match," added the White Knights defender. Antonio Nobile, the technical coach of Africa Sports, said that they came to Cairo to play a good game with a respectable opponent headed by talented coaching staff. "We hope to achieve a positive result. Zamalek is a great team with distinguished players and headed by an excellent technical coach," Nobile said when arriving in Egypt. The Italian coach added that Shehata had accomplished much with the Egyptian team and deserved great respect. "But he's not playing, he only decides on the strategy and instructs the players," he added. The ex-Inter Milan defender, who made 38 club appearances from the summer of 1987 to November 1988, pointed out that his side was ready for the crucial game. "My team is physically and technically ready for a good performance; we hope the outcome will help us in Abidjan," Nobile said. Africa Sports of Côte d'Ivoire qualified for round 32 of the African Champions League (ACL) when defeating the Missile Club of Gabon with 2–0.
