Two-time African footballer of the year Mohamed Salah has aired his opinion regarding the forthcoming all Egyptian CAF Champions League final as he admitted a serious concern.
The Liverpool hitman is no stranger to the fearsome nature of the rivalry between Al Ahly and Zamalek, who have emerged as this year’s CAF Champions League finalists.
This will be the first time in history that the final of Africa’s premier club football competition will be contested by both teams from the capital, and Mohamed Salah, who scored the all-important goal that secured Egypt’s qualification to the Russia 2018 World Cup, is wary of the effects of the upcoming game on team harmony when players from both teams report for international duty with their country.
The North Africans are due to face West African opposition Togo during the international break in a doubleheader this week. Salah who scored Liverpool’s only goal in Sunday’s game against Manchester City has since shared his thoughts.
According to the Liverpool started, he is hoping that the Al Ahly players, alongside their Zamalek counterparts, will lay aside their rivalry when reporting to the national camp ahead of their upcoming CAF Champions League final date, which takes place later this November. He also reiterated the positives to have teams from Egypt dominating football on the continent.
“It’s something great, I’m very proud of what they achieved. I followed both of their semi-final games and I was rooting for both of them to reach the final,” Salah said, as quoted by KingFut.
“I don’t want there to be any tension between the players before or during the national team camp. I’m really happy for both teams and I’m sure that the better side will lift the trophy. This will benefit the national team as well as the country. I just hope there’s no tension yet.
“We have Al Ahly and Zamalek in the Champions League final and we had Pyramids in the Confederation Cup final. The fact that Egyptian teams are performing well will 100% benefit the national team,”
Egypt squad for Togo double-header
Six Al Ahly players have been called up to camp while Zamalek have five players set to feature in the Egyptian national team camp
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El-Shennawy (Al Ahly SC), Mohamed Abou-Gabal (Zamalek SC), Mohamed Bassam (Tala’a El-Gaish).
Defenders: Ali Gabr, Mohamed Hamdy (Pyramids FC), Ahmed Aboul-Fotouh (Smouha), Mohamed Hany, Ayman Ashraf (Al Ahly SC), Ahmed Hegazi (Ittihad Jeddah), Mahmoud Alaa, Mahmoud Hamdy El-Wensh (Zamalek SC).
Midfielders: Mohamed Magdy Afsha, Hamdi Fathi, Amr El-Sulya (Al Ahly SC), Ramadan Sobhi, Abdallah El-Said, Ahmed Tawfik (Pyramids FC), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Tarek Hamed, Ahmed Sayed Zizo (Zamalek SC).
Forwards: Hossam Hassan (Smouha SC), Ahmed Hassan Kouka (Olympiacos), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool FC), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Aston Villa), Mohamed Sherif (ENPPI).
Al Ahly will face Zamalek in the eagerly anticipated CAF Champions League final on 27 November 2020 at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Cairo, in a fixture that some have described as Africa’s biggest club fixture to date.
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