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CAF Champions League

BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY BY TWO NORTH AFRICAN GIANTS

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

 

This year’s CAF Champions League final presents a unique setting, as it is a repeat of 2012 edition. Egypt’s Al Ahly take on Tunisia’s Esperance in the first leg match on Friday.

 

It is a battle of two of Africa’s oldest club-sides. Al Ahly was founded in 1907 while Esperance had its seeds sowed in 1919.

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Al Ahly, easily the most successful African club as well as the most fanatically supported won the 2012 keenly contested final battles.

 

Will they do it again this year? The confrontations of both teams litter the record books of African football. Across all African clubs’ competitions in the past 28 years, both teams have met 18 times with victories tilting more to Al Ahly.

 

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Even this year, they met twice in the group stage. Esperance held Al Ahly to a scoreless draw in Alexandria only to succumb to a lone goal defeat at home in Rades. Thanks to the 32nd minute strike by Al Ahly’s Walid Azaro.

 

AL AHLY –ESPERANCE HEAD-TO-HEAD

 

1990 CAF Champions League – 1/8th finals

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Tunis                                     Esperance 0-0 Ahly

Cairo                                     Ahly 0-0* Esperance

*Esperance won 4-2 on penalty shootout

 

2001 CAF Champions League – Semifinal

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04.11.2001    Cairo            Ahly 0-0 Esperance

17.11.2001    Tunis             Esperance 1-1 Ahly (Edilton Perreira 2’/ Sayed Abdel Hafeez 83′)

 

2007 CAF Champions League – Group stage

20.07.2007    Cairo             Ahly 3-0 Esperance (Mohamed Abu Treika 12′, Flavio Amado 77′, Ossama Hosny 85′)

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04.08.2007    Rades            Esperance 1-0 Ahly (Salama Kasdaoui 38′)

 

2010 CAF Champions League – Semifinal

03.10.2010    Cairo             Ahly 2-1 Esperance (Mohamed Fadl 38′, Ahmed Fathy 68′ / Oussama Darragi 72′)

17.10.2010    Rades            Esperance 1-0 Ahly (Michael Eneramo 1′)

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2011 CAF Champions League – Group stage

30.07.2011    Rades            Esperance 1-0 Ahly (Yannick N’Djeng 14′)

16.09.2011    Cairo             Ahly 1-1 Esperance (Mohamed Abu Treika 54′ / Yaya Banana 17′)

 

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2012 CAF Champions League – Final

04.11.2012    Alexandria     Ahly 1-1 Esperance (Elsayed Hamdy 88′ / Walid Hichri 49′)

17.11.2012    Rades            Esperance 1-2 Ahly (Yannick N’Djeng 85′ / Mohamed Nagy “Geddo” 43′, Waleed Suleiman 63′)

 

2015 CAF Confederation Cup – Group stage

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28.06.2015    Suez             Ahly 3-0 Esperance (Abdullah Elsaid 20′, Abdullah Elsaid 58′, Moamen Zakaria 90′)

22.08.2015    Rades            Esperance 0-1 Ahly (John Antwi 5′)

 

2017 CAF Champions League – Quarterfinal

16.09.2017    Alexandria     Ahly 2-2 Esperance (Abdullah Elsaid 11′, Walid Azaro 67′ / Taha Yassine Khenissi 21′, Ghilane Chaalali 48′)

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23.09.2017    Cairo             Esperance 1-2 Ahly (Taha Yassine Khenissi 40′ / Ali Maaloul 50′, Junior Ajayi 62′)

 

2018 CAF Champions League – Group stage

04.05.2018    Alexandria     Ahly 0-0 Esperance

17.08.2018    Rades            Esperance 0-1 Ahly (Walid Azaro 32′)

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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