Portuguese coach Manuel Jose said that his goal is to take Ahli to the next level after dominating the African football scene. Jose guided Ahli to three African Champions League titles in 2001, 2005 and 2006 in addition to two African Super Cups in 2002 and 2005 and a host of local honors. "I want Ahli to become more than just African champions," Jose told Japanese channel 'Nippon' in a TV interview. "I want to help Ahli become more of a European team in their style of play," he said "That has been my goal all along and I will try to demonstrate that in Japan." Ahli became the only team to qualify to the Club World Cup (CWC) in Japan for two consecutive times after beating CS Sfaxien of Tunisia 2-1 on aggregate in the African Champions League final. Jose did however insist that Ahli's chances of winning the tournament, which will take place between December 10th and 17th, are very slim.
Mohamed Barakat When asked about the absence of mercurial midfielder Mohamed Barakat Jose said: "Barakat is a pivotal player and I'm sad that he will miss the CWC." Barakat has suffered a string of injuries over the past few months and is yet to recover completely. But Jose believes Ahli can still do well without the versatile player. "Life goes on, and the team can still make it without Barakat. I'm not worried, I'm sure his absence will not affect the team." Nippon TV also dedicated a huge section of its report to Ahli's fans and players, especially star playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika Ahli kick-off their CWC campaign by facing Auckland City of New Zealand on December 10th in Toyota city.
