With the exception of Ahli's die-hard fans, not many football pundits thought Ahli would make it past Copa Libertadores champions Internacional in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. But what no one expected was that Manuel Jose's claims that Ahli is slowly becoming a more European team, rather than African, through their exceptional style and professionalism. Ahli really proved their worth on Wednesday, despite losing to Brazilian giants Internacional 2-1 after a hard fought game. Ahli's qualification to the Club World Cup for the second successive year was surrounded with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension as Egyptians feared their heroes will suffer another disappointing campaign. Egypt was in shock after Ahli finished last in last year's disappointing last place finish. The Egyptian giants opted to erase this distorted image by cruising to a comfortable 2-0 win over Auckland City of New Zealand in the opening game. And while the victory over the Oceania champions was not challenging on the pitch, it made Ahli's burden much lighter, making way for a more enticing encounter. What Ahli's players did in Tokyo impressed even Jose himself. The Portuguese manager chose to field a sole striker and compensate with an extra midfielder to control the operations area.
With Mohamed Abou-Treika orchestrating maneuvers on the pitch, Ahli gave Internacional a run for their money. With Mohamed Abou-Treika orchestrating maneuvers on the pitch, Ahli gave Internacional a run for their money. And despite going a goal down midway through the first-half, the determination of Ahli's players was not affected as they tormented their opponents in midfield and matched the Brazilians in their race of pace. There is no doubt the ‘we've got nothing to lose' attitude played a role in Ahli's enthusiastic display but it also uncovered and aura of brilliance and attitude that Egyptian players only demonstrate in tough situations. Unfortunately for the Egyptian champions, the hype that followed Flavio's equalizer was short lived as the Brazilian pride kicked in. Luiz Adriano pinned a brilliant header to rain on Ahli's parade and bring them back to reality. Almost uncharacteristically, Ahli's players did not give up, even though it may have looked so given Internacional's organized defensive approach in the dying minutes of the game. At the end of the day, Internacional finished on top and the Brazilians celebrated blissfully after the game, proving furthermore that their win over the African champions was anything but easy. Luck was definitely a factor in Ahli's defeat, as was the scarcity of intercontinental action and lack of experience against top clubs. If anything, Ahli made Egyptian football fans proud and the African champions will get a chance to improve on their success if they win third place on Sunday.
