Archive for the ‘CAF Champions League 2012’ Category

Player Profile: Stoppila Sunzu

Posted: December 18, 2012 by SFG in African Football, CAF Champions League 2012, SFG Scout Report
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Are Arsenal keen on Sunzu’s services?

by Maher Mezahi & Salim Masoud Said

In modern football, it’s seldom that a precocious Sub-Saharan talent stays in Africa for too long before he’s lured by the lucrative pastures of Europe. But 23-year-old Zambian Stoppila Sunzu is one of the growing exceptions to the rule. The reportedly Arsenal-bound centre-back and defensive midfielder plays for TP Mazembe, a Congolese continental behemoth with  a proud history and bountiful resources thanks to the financial backing and vision of wealthy businessman Moise Katumbi.

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CAF Champions League 2012 Final Review: Al Ahly dethrone Esperance

Posted: November 20, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in CAF Champions League 2012
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Al Ahly gave an excellent performance to overpower Esperance, and inflict their first home defeat in the Champions League since losing to Zamalek in August 2005.

Al Ahly coach Hossam Al Badry gave Al Sayed Hamdy a start up front after his impressive cameo in the first leg where he scored the all-important equaliser. Hamdy’s place in the team came at the cost of veteran midfielder Mohamed Aboutrika, which hinted Al Ahly were looking for the prolonging of the urgency in the final third that was evident after Hamdy came on in the first leg. Ahmed Shedid returned at left-back in place of Sherif Abdel-Fadil after missing the first leg through injury.

Esperance coach Nabil Maaloul, meanwhile, surprisingly started with talisman Youssef Msakni, even though the 22-year-old was a major doubt following an appendectomy, and Chaker Zouaghi came in for the suspended Sameh Derbali at right-back.

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CAF Champions League 2012: Best XI

Posted: November 18, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in CAF Champions League 2012
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The excellent performers from this year’s competition:

Abdelwahed El-Sayed (Zamalek)

Affectionately known as the ‘Lion of Africa’ by the Zamalek faithful, El Sayed was one of the smidgeon of shining lights for the Egyptian giants. The White Knights endured a tumultuous campaign in the competition, and without the thou-shall-not-pass aura of El Sayed in goal it could have been a whole lot worse.

Godfrey Oboabona (Sunshine Stars)

The 23-year-old Sunshine Stars skipper has become a regular fixture in Steve Keshi’s Nigeria squad thanks to his assured performances in the competition, whether playing at right-back or centre-back. It’s no wonder that Sunshine Stars’ backline in the semi-finals against Al Ahly was such a contrast without him in the first leg and with him in the second leg.

Walid Hichri (Esperance)

An ever-present at the heart of the Esperance defence, the lofty centre-half was the protagonist in providing the evidence that defending isn’t a beauty competition versus TP Mazembe in Lubumbashi, pummelling every ball away with deranged brutality, particularly with his head, in what was the competition’s best individual defensive performance.

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CAF Champions League Final Preview: Al Ahly v Esperance

Posted: November 2, 2012 by SFG in CAF Champions League 2012
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African Champions League final

Al Ahly v Esperance

1st leg (4nd November 2012, 1700 BST): Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria

2nd leg(17th November 2012, 1730 BST): Stade de Olympique de Rades, Rades

Al Ahly (probable, 4-2-3-1): Ekramy; Fathy, Gomaa, Naguib, Shedid; Ghaly, Ashour; Barakat, Aboutrika, Soliman; Gedo.

Esperance (probable, 4-3-3): Ben Cherifia; Derbali, Hicheri, Ben Mansour, Chammam; Mouelhi, Ragued, Aouadhi; Afful, Msakni, N’Djeng.

A match between two continental heavyweights primed for battle; a villanously efficient side, the continent’s finest, against a side who tread a fine line between being a streetwise winner and a streetwise bottler. A match that promises to provide the perfect synthesis of coarse determination and sparkling flair, showcasing the qualities that are synonymous with the vogue Maghrebian sides off the last 30 years. The qualities that mended many hearts when Tunisia won the Cup of Nations in 2004 on home soil; in a splendid side that contained North Korean military organisation and a sprinkling of stardust in the form of Slim Ben Achour (remember him? No? Shame on you.). Then those qualities thoroughly entertained purists and pragmatics when the all-conquering Al Ahly and Egypt national sides buckled their swash in the 2000s. This is match that – for the real football connoisseurs rather than pretenders like humble old me – promises to be a ‘fascinating tactical battle’.

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CAF Champions League semi-finalist profile: TP Mazembe

Posted: October 7, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in CAF Champions League 2012
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With the first legs of the CAF Champions League semi-finals taking place this weekend, Sandals For Goalposts profiles the four clubs in with a chance of claiming Africa’s most prized club gong. We’ve looked at defending champions Esperance, continental heavyweights Al Ahly and Nigerian darkhorses Sunshine Stars. Here, we take a glance at the pride of sub-Saharan football: TP Mazembe.

Club: TP Mazembe

Country: DR Congo

CAF CL record:

Winners: 1967, 1968, 2009, 2010

Runners-up: 1969, 1970

The Status Quo

The 2009 and 2010 champions are looking for an unprecedented hat-trick of CAF Champions League titles after controversially being thrown out in last year’s edition for allegedly fielding ineligible player.

After beating Al Ahly to move into the final round of group stage fixtures as Group B leaders, the Ravens then lost to grafty Ghanaians Berekum Chelsea, relinquishing the chance to have the supposedly easier tie with Nigerian minnows Sunshine Stars in the semi-finals. Indeed, their mixture of an exposed defence and unsuitable tactics that had made them begin their group stage campaign cumbersomely in their opening two fixtures – a 2-1 defeat to Al Ahly, which should have been more comprehensive, and a 2-2 draw with Berekum Chelsea, in which they wasted a 2-goal lead – reared its ugly head again in that final group match in Berekum, a 1-0 loss rife with Sunday league defending.

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