Fresh from the World club championship in Qatar, African champions Al Ahly now set eyes on the continent's most prestigious club football competition, the Champions League. The defending champions will be gunning for a back to back feat.
Pitso Mosimane's team will be the team to beat this season. The South African technician and his players fully understand the scale of the task that awaits them in this new African campaign. But the Red Devils is, nonetheless, the big favorites of this competition as there are no shortage of arguments.
The bronze medal won a week ago at the Club World Cup in Qatar gives some indication of the personality of the Cairo team. Experienced training, a quality workforce and a reputable coach. Al Ahly has a all it takes. The players are already setting the tone. “As soon as we received our medals for third place, the coach and the president explained to us that the chapter of the Club World Cup was closed and that another story was to be written upon our return to Egypt if we wanted to continue winning titles,” said midfielder Saad Amir after the victory over Palmeiras.
A clear message that says a lot about the mentality of the record nine-time champions of Africa, more hungry than ever. Their opponents should expect hard times as the case was with Al Merreikh on Monday, for their entry into contention in the Champions League. Traveling to Cairo, the Sudanese met an almost impossible to beat Ahly side which annihilated their opponents 3-0 at home with the champions of Egypt not only settle in first place in Pool A, but above all they send a strong signal to the continent that they clearly mean business.