Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah is well aware of the magnitude of the upcoming CAF Champions League final taking place between Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly and Jaime Pacheco’s Zamalek.
For the first time in history, the CAF Champions League final will be contested between arch Egyptian rivals Al Ahly and Zamalek and Mohamed Salah is concerned over how the upcoming international break is going to play out with players from both teams reporting for national team camp with Egypt.
Coach Pitso Mosimane would’ve had to have had a stern talk with his Al Ahly stars who’ll be meeting up with their crosstown rivals during the upcoming international camp with Egypt due to face Togo in back-to-back AFCON Qualifiers this week and Salah has since shared his thoughts.
Salah hoping Cairo CAF Champions League Derby tension doesn’t affect national team
Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah is hopeful that Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly players along with their rivals Zamalek don’t bring any tension into the national camp ahead of the CAF Champions League final which takes place later this month while maintaining that it’s a positive to have Egyptian teams dominating continental football.
“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,”
Six of Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly players have been called up to do duty for Egypt while Zamalek are represented by five players.
- 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).
Pitso Mosimane’s 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 could well be defined as Africa’s biggest club fixture to date.
