كتب : وكالات
African champions Ahli made Club World Cup history by becoming the first team to earn back-to-back tickets Japan, putting the Egyptian powerhouse under pressure to perform when the tournament kicks-off on December 10th.
Ahli’s players are no strangers to pressure, especially the Japanese kind.
The Cairo giants qualified for Japan unbeaten last year, a streak that gave local media and fans the impression that Ahli could actually add a Club World Cup title to their trophy cabinet.
“Last year, we won the CAF Champions League without a single defeat and we were unbeaten for almost a year,” Ahli’s coach, Manuel Jose told FIFA.com in an interview.
“People thought we were invincible. They thought we could return with the cup which put a lot of pressure on my players.”
Pressure indeed; Ahli’s dream of maintaining their unbeatable run turned into a horrible nightmare as the team slipped to two defeats at the hands of Saudi counterparts Ittihad Jeddah and FC Sydney of Australia, 1-0 and 2-1 respectively.
“(The players) lost their concentration and we underestimated our opponents which resulted in our defeats,” admitted Jose.
The pressure on Ahli mounted to redeem themselves and the players delivered by winning the local league and cup double, in addition to the African and local Super Cups.
But the pressure continued on Ahli.
Their unbeaten streak in Africa was snapped after a 1-0 defeat to Sfaxien in the Champions League group stage and Ahli’s impressive performances continued to drop while their injury list became bigger.
"Since we started the season in June, we have had many problems,” Jose told BBC Sport after winning the African title.
“We have had seven operations on very important players,” he added.
The pressure continued when Ahli’s winger Mohamed Abdul-Wahab collapsed and died in front of his teammates during training.
“The death of Mohamed Abdul-Wahab was a big drama for all of us,” said Jose.
But the Portuguese manager is determined Ahli will not repeat the mistakes of last year.
“I am only asking my players to play their normal game regardless of the results. I do not want them looking over their shoulders while they face their opponents,” he said.
Not to be misinterpreted, Jose made clear that Ahli’s ambitions are high.
“We would not have flown 14 hours to Japan if we didn't think we could (win)!
“Ahli is a very big name,” said Jose. “We play to win every single game and that is what we are planning to do even if we face Barcelona.”
Ahli’s star playmaker, Mohamed Abou-Treika, echoed his coach’s sentiment.
"We are looking forward to playing again in this competition, doing well in it and changing the poor image we created last year," he said.
“We expect at least to do better than last time, although beating Auckland City in our opening match should be our main concern for now,” Abou-Treika told FIFA in an interview.
Abou-Treika was the man who delivered to Ahli their second Club World Cup berth when he netted a brilliant volley that gave Ahli victory over Sfaxien of Tunisia in the African final tro send Ahli through with a 2-1 aggregate win.
After we drew 1-1 in Cairo, many people thought we would be unable to defend our title, but I had so many reasons to believe that we could win in Tunisia,” said the 28-year-old.
He is also the reigning star member of Ahli’s invincible “triangle of fear” which included Emad Meteb and Mohamed Barakat, the latter being replaced by Angolan striker Flavio after his injury earlier this year.
“This time, I think we are regaining some of our magical form and, once we have harmony among our players, the sky will be the limit,” said the African Player of the Year nominee.
Regardless of the res