Ahli midfielder Mohamed Barakat believes two-legged ties could never be concluded in one match, saying the first-leg of the Champions League final round against Coton Sport is not the end of the road. Ahead of Ahli's eagerly-awaited showdown against the Cameroonian outfit on Sunday, the Reds ardent fans are urging their team to edge closer to their sixth continental title with a home clean sweep in the first leg. Last year, The Cairo giants ended up as runners-up while Etoile Sahel were crowned champions after registering an earth-shattering 3-1 victory in the second leg at Cairo stadium. The Egyptian Football fanatics had high hopes when Ahli held the Tunisian team to a goalless draw in the first leg in Sousse. They never expected that their side would miss out on the prestigious triumph. The slipped-away title left Ahli fans oversensitive, and now they are piling up pressure on their team, hoping for a first leg drubbing in order to secure the title prematurely. But mercurial midfielder Barakat, the 2005 BBC African Player of the Year, told FilGoal.com in an exclusive interview the aggregate result is what really matters. Do you think you can get one hand on the title in the first leg? Such pivotal two-legged rounds can never be ended in one game, the aggregate result will eventually determine the winners. I believe the team with more concentration during both legs will clinch the trophy. Nowadays, home advantage and spectators support are not deemed as influential as before. Strong outfits can put in good performances in the away matches as well. Does that mean Ahli wouldn't be able to register a win by a large margin in the first leg? Drubbings are quite seldom in the final rounds. The 2006 African Champions League verifies my theory, we were held to a 1-1 draw by Sfaxien and then we won the second leg in Tunisia 1-0.
Finals rarely end in clean sweeps People are a bit concerned about the game because Ahli seemed out-of-sorts in some local league matches, do you think the Reds' form is instable? Even if our displays in the league were inconsistent , that doesn't necessarily mean we would not perform well in the Champions League. When we were stumbling in the Egyptian League weeks ago, we drew with ASEC Mimosas in Ivory coast and defeated Dynamos Harare in their neck of the woods. We are planning to do the same against Coton. Are the rest of the players eager to claim their sixth African Champions League title? Our objective is to win and we shall accomplish it unfailingly. To qualify for the final round and finish as runners-up twice on the trot is way unacceptable. Dose the African refereeing worry you? We are a bit afraid of the referee's Bias, given that our opponents are Cameroonians, but in my opinion it's just an extra motive for us to stay sharp. We had unpleasant experiences with incompetent referees before, including both legs of the 2007 African Champions League final round. Some people are convinced Barakat cannot maintain his form, what's your comment? This is not true, my form is quite stable but if my position is changed, so must my role. Probably that's why some people think I am inconsistent. When I am deployed in the midfield right behind the frontline I come to get noticed more frequently. However, when I play as a left-back, I have to put on a whole different display in accordance to the tactical strategy, and the technical staff always lauds my performances.
