Zamalek and Al-Ahly set for Egyptian Super Cup in Al-Ain

Any match between Zamalek and Al-Ahly is one to relish but this Friday’s Egyptian Super Cup could be a real treat — especially for the neutral, and there will be a few of those at Al-Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

The winner will add another trophy to their already overflowing cabinets and though it may not be the biggest, there will be no quarter given in this latest clash between these huge Cairo rivals.

Zamalek, league champions and FA Cup holders, are going for the domestic treble. Al-Ahly want to stop that and get revenge for defeat in July’s cup final. While both are desperate to win, this time it is Al-Ahly who need victory that little bit more.

The Red Giants won all five Egyptian Premier League titles in the second half of the previous decade but have seen Zamalek take the last two and it has been a bitter sight.

Worse was last season when they did not even manage to finish in the top two for the first time since 1992 and had to settle for third with Pyramids taking the runners-up spot.

Continental and subsequent FIFA Club World Cup commitments impacted their ability to win at home, but that relative lack of domestic success — even if most teams around the world would love the recent placings that the team has had — resulted in coach Pitso Mosimane leaving the club.

The South African delivered in the African Champions League, winning the 2020 and 2021 titles and then reaching the final earlier this year, but when Zamalek are winning the big trophies at home then there is always going to be pressure.

Mosimane was replaced in June by Ricardo Soares with the Portuguese boss leaving his homeland for the first time. It never really looked to be the right fit and by the end of August and the end of the season,