CAF Champions League
BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY BY TWO NORTH AFRICAN GIANTS
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.
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.
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
Tunis Esperance 0-0 Ahly
Cairo Ahly 0-0* Esperance
*Esperance won 4-2 on penalty shootout
2001 CAF Champions League – Semifinal
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′)
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′)
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′)
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
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′)
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′)