Zamalek players have an uphill to climb when they take on arch-rivals Ahli on Sunday in the Egyptian Super Cup: They aim to end an embarrassing record in the derby and give their troubled club a push after the recent administrative chaos. Club members were poised to elect a new board for the upcoming four years last Friday but the elections were cancelled by a Cairo court. Members and fans took to streets in protest over the decision as they declared support to Mamdouh Abbas to continue as club chairman. Despite the chaos, Zamalek players believe that winning the game is second to none, especially after losing 2-1 to Ahli in the African Champions League last week. "We can't lose again," A senior Zamalek player told FilGoal.com on condition of anonymity. "A defeat might cause huge damage not only for fans and club members, but for the players as well." Zamalek lost 12 times in the last 14 encounters with Ahli. They won only once against a second-string Ahli side that was fielded after the club have already secured the league in 2007. "It was bad luck to play Ahli twice in the beginning of the season before the new signings adjust with the rest of the players. But we have to win," he added. However, an online poll conducted by FilGoal.com and attracted more than 10.000 users showed that Egyptian fans don't expect to end the losing streak on Sunday. More than half of the participants believe that the administrative problems will take its toll on the players. While some 33% of the voters said that Zamalek players already got used to problems hitting the club repeatedly in the past few years.
