Zamalek Super Cup clash will be tough – Ashour
Yesterday at 06:00 AM
Al Ahly midfielder Emam Ashour is expecting a tough match against arch rivals Zamalek in the CAF Super Cup final, which will be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday evening.
The two teams face off in a continental match for the first time since their memorable CAF Champions League final in 2020, when Al Ahly defeated Zamalek 2-1 to clinch their ninth African crown.
“Of course, these matches are always intense, and this will be even tougher due to us playing our rivals, but we cannot let that distract us from our preparations. We need to play the occasion and not so much the opponent,” Ashour told CAF's official website.
Ashour was part of Zamalek's team for that Champions League final in 2020, but this time around he will be in the opposite camp, having joined Al Ahly (after a brief spell in Denmark) in 2023.
“Playing for Al Ahly surrounded by great footballers who help your quick integration into the team makes all the difference," said the 26-year-old of his integration into a club he would have formerly considered an enemy.
"I don’t feel like a stranger, because these players give me the impression of being here since childhood, which is essential for a football player.”
Ashour will hope to defeat his old friends at Zamalek and break his bad luck in the Super Cup after losing the title last year to USMA of Algeria in his debut for the Red Eagles.
The two teams have only met once in the CAF Super Cup competition when Zamalek defeated Al Ahly 1-0 in Johannesburg in 1994, becoming the first Egyptian side to win the competition’s title.
