Amir Salah decided to stay awake all night, taking his seat in a popular cafe downtown nearly three hours before Ahli's game against Pachuca in the Club World Cup. Despite feeling the bitter cold of Cairo on this particular December night, thousands of the Ahli faithful didn't mind sitting in roofless cafes long before the game started at 07:00 in the morning to watch the match, only broadcasted on cable TV. Sporting a replica of Mohamed Abou-Treika's number-22 jersey and a red woolen scarf, Salah was almost sure of celebrating a victory that would take the African Champions to the semis. But shock was all what he felt following the 4-2 defeat in Tokyo. "This is unbelievable," he fumed after the game. "How could it end so soon?" Shock -- not sadness, anger or frustration -- was the common feeling between Ahli fans after the early exit from the tournament. 'Devils v Devils' Since winning the African Champions League in November for the third time in the last four years, Ahli fans were looking forward to the trip to Japan. Banners at the Cairo International Stadium read the words "Ahli in Japan" during the first-leg of the final against Cotonsport and a huge Japanese flag was waved at the Ahli sections in the second-leg. Expectations were high that Ahli will at least win a bronze medal, repeating the feat of the 2006 World Cup. More optimistic supporters dreamt about memorable final with Premiership and European champions Manchester United. "Some of them even thought about the headlines that Egyptian papers will print on the day of the United game," veteran sports journalist Walid Al-Husseiny said. Both famous of their red kits, Ahli and United are called 'The Red Devils' in their respective countries.
Abdul-Hamid (L) with Al-Hadari "They wanted to read about 'Devils facing Devils'. Bowing out so early can't be swallowed easily," he told FilGoal.com after the game. Cairo streets, that were getting ready for cars honking their horns and supporters' noisy celebrations as Ahli went two up, only witnessed silent marches after the CONCACAF champions stormed back into the game. Pointing Fingers This silence, though, was interrupted by murmurs trying to figure out the reason behind conceding four goals in a competitive match for the first time in years. Manuel Jose, Ahli's most successful coach in history, was blamed for fielding a lone striker and looking undecided over substitutions and player's positions on the pitch. "I want to hear just one reason for why Flavio is playing alone upfront," renowned analyst Khaled Bayoumi said after the game. Defending trio Shadi Mohamed, Wael Gomaa and Ahmed Al-Sayed were also held responsible for the heavy score line. But all fingers were pointed at goalkeeper Amir Abdul-Hamid. "He is no (Essam) Al-Hadari," Bayoumi said on ART Sports. "Amir is responsible for at least two goals and he even failed to instruct the wall to line up properly before the second goal." Abdul-Hamid has been Ahli's first choice goalie since Egypt's number one Al-Hadari surprisingly left for Swiss side Sion in February. He has been struggling to get out of the shadow of Al-Hadari, named best keeper in the African Cup of Nations 2006 and 2008. "Abdul-Hamid is an average keeper," a still-shocked Salah said. "You can't depend on him if you want to compete at this level."
