CAFCL Preview: Mamelodi Sundowns (RSA) vs Al Ahly (EGY)
- Andrew Olsson
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
South Africa versus Egypt. That is the theme of the CAF Champions League semifinals this season with one of the duels featuring the most successful clubs from each nation. The winner of the clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly will certainly be the favorite to capture the trophy as both teams prepare to begin their battle with the first leg on Saturday in Pretoria. Read more about both teams below:
First Leg: April 19 in Pretoria, South Africa (14:00 GMT)
Second Leg: April 25 in Cairo, Egypt (17:00 GMT)
Mamelodi Sundowns (RSA)
A club with big ambitions and expectations beyond South African domestic football, Sundowns conquered the Champions League in 2016 but Masandawana have had limited success against North Africa's top powerhouses since then. With semifinal finishes in the last two editions and three consecutive quarterfinal exits before that, issues such as set piece marking and similar small details have made the difference in the knockout stage.
Head Coach: Miguel Cardoso
After years of keeping their coaching team in house under Rulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi, Sundowns have turned to Portuguese tactician Miguel Cardoso to help remedy the issues that led to previous eliminations.
A pragmatic coach who focuses more on the result than the process, it appears that Sundowns now have the best of both worlds: The prolific attack they have always enjoyed and now a determination to grind out results and prevail in the closely fought encounters that occur deep in the Champions League.
As for the team, the Sundowns attack is poised to score more goals than any of the teams that won the last seven editions of South Africa's Betway Premiership. An infusion of South Americans including Chilean big money signing Marcelo Allende and playmaker/scorer Lucas Ribeiro have made a massive difference compared to past teams.
New signing Jayden Adams and central midfield maestro Teboho Mokoena also show that the formula is in place to score against the well organized defenses of the Champions League. The big question for coach Cardoso is which striker to go with? Peter Shalulile is showing good form lately while Iqraam Rayners is enjoying the more productive season but has struggled recently.
The defense is steady but there were moments of vulnerability in the group stage. Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams is the undisputed star who also has the intangible ability to save penalty kicks at a remarkable rate. The central defense is not the most imposing with South Africa naitonal team player Grant Kekana a consistent player but Argentine import Lucas Suarez has been rather insonsistent, making a critical error against Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup in Sundowns' last match.
While fullbacks Khuliso Mudau and Aubrey Modiba are known to have quality, each picked up red cards at important moments during the group stage as well as deep lying central midfielder Bathusi Aubaas.
Al Ahly (EGY)
Africa's most successful club, Al Ahly are the defending champions and have won four of the last five editions of the Champions League. While their name and massive fanbase is always imposing, there are plenty of reasons to be concerned this season. Ahly are barely hanging on in the ongoing Egyptian Premier League title race and the team has looked far from convincing at times this season, leaving them vulnerable against an in form Sundowns side.
Head Coach: Marcel Koller
The Austrian has an excellent record throughout his history with teams such as the Austria national team and FC Basel but has been more of a grim figure this season after finding instant success upon his arrival last season. Ahly's quarterfinal victory over Sudanese giants Al Hilal was far from convincing.
With a seven-point deficit from Egyptian leaders Pyramids FC in the league, the temperature is rising for Koller. Lacking the prolific attack of a team like Sundowns, Koller and his Ahly team will need to remain secure defensively and hope that they can grind out a difficult result in South Africa before counting on their passionate home support in the second leg.
The most concerning sign for Ahly supporters is an attack that is not performing at their best. The lack of a top playmaker with vision leaves Ahly to depend on wide attackers like Achraf Bencharki. Emam Ashour is the leading scorer in the team, a versatile and energetic player who can feature anywhere in the midfield or even as a forward. For the Champions League, expect him to line up opposite from Bencharki or in a more central role.
Nejc Gradisar and Wessam Abou Ali are talented strikers but it appears that they are not very effective when playing together on the pitch, leaving Koller with a difficult decision to select one or try to force success with a forward pairing that features both players.
Akram Tawfik and Marwan Ateya are good deep-lying central midfielders who are good with the ball, but deciding to offload Malian midfielder Aliou Dieng on loan to Saudi Arabia has proven to be a poor decision by the club who lack a true ball winning presence.
The central spine of the team is where Sundowns can overwhelm Ahly with quick combinations that can expose slow central defenders Achraf Dari and Rami Rabia. It is also important to note that Moroccan left back Yahia Attiyat Allah and his deputy, youth academy graduate Karim El Debes, have both been struggling to stay fit lately.