Cairo derby

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Cairo Derby
AL-Ahly Zamalek.png
Al Ahly and Zamalek historical kits
Other namesClasico El Arab
The Peak القمة
LocationCairo, Egypt
TeamsAl Ahly SC
Zamalek SC
First meetingZamalek 0–0 Al Ahly
Friendly
(17 November 1922)
Latest meetingZamalek 3–5 Al Ahly
2021–22 Egyptian Premier League (5 November 2021)
StadiumsCairo International Stadium
Statistics
Meetings total242
Most winsAl Ahly SC (105)
Most player appearancesHossam Ashour (34)
Top scorerAbdel-Karim Sakr (19)
All-time seriesAl Ahly: 105
Drawn: 79
Zamalek: 58
Largest victoryZamalek 6–0 Al Ahly
(2 January 1942)
1941–42 Cairo League
Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly
(2 June 1944)
1944 Egypt Cup Final

The Cairo Derby (Arabic: ديربي القاهرة) is a football match between Egyptian clubs Al Ahly SC and Zamalek. It is a match between arguably the two most successful clubs in Egypt and Africa. Ahly and Zamalek were named by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as The 1st and 2nd African Clubs of the 20th Century respectively. Both teams are located in Greater Cairo and their matches are considered the highlight of the football season with a live broadcast to most of the Middle Eastern and North African countries since the 1970s. Usually the derby is played twice each season with 2 matches in the Egyptian Premier League, but it is not uncommon to find the teams meeting each other in the Egypt Cup, especially in the final, and in Africa's most prestigious club competition, the CAF Champions League.

The rivalry[]

AL Ahly and Zamalek historical positions in the League

Ever since their creation, both clubs have been the top clubs in the Egyptian Premier League, the country's top-flight football league. In the first half of the twentieth century.[1] Al Ahly won their first league title when the Egyptian Premier League was first created in the 1948–49 season and won 42 domestic league titles after that. Zamalek managed to win the league 13 times.

The largest winning margin in this derby was 6–0 for Zamalek, which has been achieved 2 times. The first time was on January 2, 1942, in 1941–42 Cairo League, and the second time was on June 2, 1944, when Zamalek was known as Farouk back then, at the 1944 Egypt Cup Final.

Fans of both clubs can be violent when in anger, such as a match in the 1971–1972 season, which had crowd violence and caused the rest of the season to be called off.[2] Numerous fights, injuries, and deaths have been reported before matters became more controlled due to Egypt's authoritarian regime. Yet many fights and riots still occur after derby matches between both sets of fans, leading the government to post even higher numbers of Central Security Forces troops in the stadium during the derby. The number of fights have increased with the increasing popularity of the "ultras" movement.[3]

Matches between both teams can be decisive. Whenever they meet in the Egypt Cup the winner usually goes on to win the cup, or at least grab the runners up medal. Moreover, the team which has the aggregate result on its favor in the league rarely misses the chance to win the Egyptian Premier League.

Non-Egyptian referees are often flown in to officiate the derby in order to ensure impartiality.[4] In 2018, World Soccer Magazine selected the Cairo Derby as the 10th most fierce derby in the world.[5] Besides the estimated 50 million domestic TV audience, the game is huge all over North Africa, the Middle East and the entire world.[6] On 24 February 2020, Zamalek forfeited a league match against Al Ahly, a few days after their match at the 2019–20 Egyptian Super Cup.[7]

On 5 November 2020, Zamalek overcame Raja Casablanca 4–1 in the second leg of the 2019–20 CAF Champions League semi-finals, and set up the historic final with Al-Ahly, marking the first time ever in their history that the two clubs faced each other in the final of an international competition.[8]

The single-leg final was played on 27 November 2020, and Al-Ahly won the match 2–1, earning a competition record ninth Champions League title.[9]

The Meetings[]

League[]

Zamalek against Al Ahly in the 2015 Egyptian Super Cup
Ultras Ahlawy Tifo Before cairo derby in 2007–08 Egyptian Premier League

These are the meetings in the League:[10]

Key[]

Colors

  Al Ahly win
  Draw

  Zamalek win

Results[]

Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
47 49 27

Egypt Cup[]

These are the meetings in the Egypt Cup[11]

Date Venue Score Competition
20 April 1928 ? 0–1 Egypt Cup Final
15 March 1929 ? 0–1 Egypt Cup quarter-final
26 June 1931 ? 1–4 Egypt Cup Final
6 May 1932 ? 2–1 Egypt Cup Final
24 March 1933 ? 3–1 Egypt Cup semi-final
11 May 1934 ? 3–0 Egypt Cup semi-final
10 May 1935 ? 3–0 Egypt Cup Final
30 April 1937 ? 1–1 Egypt Cup quarter-final
14 May 1937 ? 2–2 Egypt Cup quarter-final Replay
30 May 1937 ? 0–5 Egypt Cup quarter-final Replay
13 May 1938 ? 1–1 Egypt Cup Final
2 December 1938 ? 1–0 Egypt Cup Final Replay
17 May 1942 ? 3–0 Egypt Cup Final
2 June 1944 ? 6–0 Egypt Cup Final
21 March 1948 ? 1–2 Egypt Cup semi-final
29 April 1949 ? 1–3 Egypt Cup Final
11 May 1952 ? 2–0 Egypt Cup Final
8 May 1953 ? 4–1 Egypt Cup Final
9 May 1958 ? 0–0 Egypt Cup Final
13 May 1958 ? 2–2 Egypt Cup Final Replay
24 April 1959 ? 2–1 Egypt Cup Final
4 August 1985 Cairo Stadium 3–2 Egypt Cup Final
28 April 1989 Cairo Stadium 2–1 Egypt Cup Final
6 August 1991 Cairo Stadium 2–0 Egypt Cup semi-final
26 June 1992 Cairo Stadium 2–1 Egypt Cup Final
26 June 2006 Cairo Stadium 3–0 Egypt Cup Final
27 July 2007 Cairo Stadium 4–3 Egypt Cup Final
26 May 2010 Cairo Stadium 3–1 Egypt Cup R16
21 September 2015 Petro Sport Stadium 2–0 Egypt Cup Final
8 August 2016 Borg El Arab Stadium 3–1 Egypt Cup Final
Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
16 5 10

Egyptian Super Cup[]

These are the meetings in the Egyptian Super Cup

Date Venue Score Season
28 August 2003 Cairo Military Academy Stadium 0–0 (3–1 p) 2003–04
27 July 2008 Cairo International Stadium 2–0 2008–09
14 September 2014 Cairo International Stadium 0–0 (5–4 p) 2014–15
15 October 2015 Hazza bin Zayed Stadium 3–2 2015–16
10 February 2017 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium 0–0 (3–1 p) 2016–17
20 September 2019 Borg El Arab Stadium 3–2 2018–19
20 February 2020 Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium 0–0 (4–3 p) 2019–20
Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
3 4 0

CAF Champions League[]

These are the meetings in the CAF Champions league[12]

Date Venue Score Competition Attendance
25 September 2005 Cairo Military Academy Stadium 1–2 Semi Final 20,000
16 October 2005 Cairo Military Academy Stadium 2–0 Semi Final 20,000
20 July 2008 Cairo Stadium 2–1 Group Stage 56,000
14 September 2008 Cairo Stadium 2–2 Group Stage 50,000
22 July 2012 Cairo Military Academy Stadium 0–1 Group Stage 0
16 September 2012 Borg El Arab Stadium 1–1 Group Stage 0
24 July 2013 El Gouna Stadium 1–1 Group Stage 7,000
15 September 2013 El Gouna Stadium 4–2 Group Stage 0
27 November 2020 Cairo Stadium 1–2 Final 0
Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
6 3 0

Statistics[]

As of match played 5 November 2021

Matches Wins Draws
Al Ahly Zamalek
League 123 47 27 49
Cup 31 16 10 5
Super Cup 7 3 0 4
Sultan Hussein Cup 6 1 3 2
Cairo League 42 21 9 12
CAF Champions League 9 6 0 3
CAF Super Cup 1 0 1 0
All competitions 219 94 50 75
Friendly 23 11 8 4
All matches 242 105 58 79
Results of Al Ahly and Zamalek in the 21st century
Season ASC ZSC
2000–01 2 1
2001–02 2 3
2002–03 2 1
2003–04 2 1
2004–05 1 6
2005–06 1 2
2006–07 1 2
2007–08 1 2
2008–09 1 6
2009–10 1 2
2010–11 1 2
2013–14 1 3
2014–15 2 1
2015–16 1 2
2016–17 1 2
2017–18 1 4
2018–19 1 2
2019–20 1 2
2020–21 2 1
League champions 13 5
Top three 19 16
  League champions
  Egypt Cup
  League/Cup double

Records[]

Biggest wins (4+ goals)[]

6 Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly 2 January 1942 Cairo League[13]
Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly 2 June 1944 Egypt Cup[14]
5 Al Ahly 5–0 Zamalek 30 May 1937 Egypt Cup[15]
Al Ahly 6–1 Zamalek 16 May 2002 Egyptian League[16]
4 Al Ahly 4–0 Zamalek 28 November 1930 Cairo League[17]
Al Ahly 5–1 Zamalek 8 January 1937 Cairo League
Al Ahly 5–1 Zamalek 25 February 1938 Cairo League[18]

Top goalscorers[]

[19]

Player Club Goals
Egypt Abdel-Karim Sakr Al Ahly
Zamalek 		19
Egypt Mostafa Taha Zamalek
Al Ahly 		17
Egypt Aboutrika Al Ahly 13
Egypt El Tetsh Al Ahly 13
Egypt Ahmed Mekawi Al Ahly 11
Egypt Emad Moteab Al Ahly 10
Egypt El-Sayed Ateya Toto Al Ahly 10
Egypt Labib Mahmoud Al Ahly
Zamalek 		10
Egypt Alaa El-Hamouly Zamalek 9
Egypt El Dhizui Al Ahly 9
Egypt Hossam Hassan Al Ahly
Zamalek 		9

Hat-tricks[]

# Player For Score Date Competition
1. Egypt Mokhtar El Tetsh Al Ahly 4–0 28 November 1930 Cairo League
2. Egypt Abd El Karim Sakr Al Ahly 5–0 30 May 1937 Egypt Cup
3. Egypt El Sayed Ateya Toto Al Ahly 4–2 26 March 1953 Egyptian League
4. Egypt Khaled Bebo Al Ahly 6–1 16 May 2002 Egyptian League

Honours[]

Al Ahly Competition Zamalek
Domestic
42 Egyptian Premier League 13
37 Egypt Cup 27
11 Egyptian Super Cup 4
7 Sultan Hussein Cup (defunct) 2
16 Cairo League (defunct) 13
1 United Arab Republic Championship (defunct) 0
1 Egyptian Confederation Cup (defunct) 0
0 October League Cup (defunct) 1
115 Aggregate 60
African and Worldwide
10 CAF Champions League 5
1 CAF Confederation Cup 1
8 CAF Super Cup 4
1 Afro-Asian Club Championship (defunct) 2
4 African Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) 1
24 Aggregate 13
UAFA competitions
1 Arab Club Champions Cup 1
1 Arab Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) 0
2 Arab Super Cup (defunct) 0
4 Aggregate 1
143 Total Aggregate 74

Crossing the divide[]

Due to the rivalry between the clubs, relatively few players have played for both Ahly and Zamalek. Some of the players who have done so are listed below:

Al Ahly, then Zamalek[]

Name Pos Al Ahly Zamalek
Career Apps Goals Career Apps Goals
Hussein Hegazi FW 1915–1923
1928–1929		 ? ? 1923–28
1929–31		 ? ?
Abdel-Karim Sakr FW 1935–38 ? ? 1938–45 ? ?
Gamal Abdelhamid FW 1977–84 ? ? 1984–94 ? ?
Ayman Shawky FW 1984–94 ? ? 1995–96 ? ?
Mohamed Abdel-Galil MF 1988–95 ? ? 1995–97 ? ?
Hossam Hassan FW 1985–99 231 109 2000–04 61 38
Ibrahim Hassan DF 1985–99 177 4 2000–04 47 4
Felix Aboagye FW 1993–98 117 47 2001–02 20 5
Ibrahim Said DF 1998–03 76 18 2004–06 27 4
Osama Hassan DF 1999–01 0 0 2006–09 30 4
Ahmed Magdy DF 2004–05 0 0 2007–10 75 6
Sherif Ashraf FW 2005–07 0 0 2008–09 52 14
Mohamed Abdullah DF 2005–07 ? ? 2008–09 30 0
Hany Said DF 1997–98 12 2 2008–11 76 4
Hassan Mostafa MF 2003–09 ? ? 2009–11 41 3
Hussein Yasser MF 2008–10 20 1 2010–11 33 8
Essam El Hadary GK 1996–08 510 1 2010–11 4 0
Ahmed Hassan MF 2008–11 58 22 2011–13 26 14
Dominique Da Sylva FW 2011–13 31 5 2013–14 10 3

Zamalek, then Al Ahly[]

Name Pos Zamalek Al Ahly
Career Apps Goals Career Apps Goals
Labib Mahmoud FW ?–1931 ? ? 1931–? ? ?
Reda Abdel-Aal MF 1987–93 ? ? 1993–98 ? ?
Magdy Tolba MF 1986–89 ? ? 1995–98 ? ?
Islam El-Shater DF 2003–04 ? ? 2004–08 ? ?
Nader El-Sayed GK 1992–98 103 0 2005–06 2 0
Tarek El-Said MF 1998–06 132 23 2006–08 ? ?
Mohamed Sedik DF 2002–06 56 2 2006–07 ? ?
Moataz Eno MF 2002–07 60 5 2007–12 49 2
Hany El-Agazy FW 2006–07 1 0 2008–11 12 5
Gamal Hamza* FW 2000–09 150 50 2010 0 0
Sabry Raheel DF 2009–13 61 11 2013–
Moamen Zakaria MF 2013–14 51 12 2015– 30 11
Kahraba FW 2015–19 56 30 2019–
Yasser Ibrahim DF 2013–15 10 1 2019– 21 1

References[]

  1. ^ Grant Wahl, American Pharaoh: Ex-U.S. coach Bradley has Egypt on brink of World Cup, Sports Illustrated, Published 9 October 2013, Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  2. ^ "«شغب» الملاعب المصرية: بدأ 1971.. و«بورسعيد» و«الدفاع الجوي» الأكثر دموية". almasryalyoum.com (in Arabic). 9 February 2015.
  3. ^ Shenker, Jack (28 June 2011). "New Egypt sees old sporting rivalry resume". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  4. ^ "The world's most violent derby: Al Ahly v Zamalek". The Guardian. 18 July 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  5. ^ "World Soccer's 50 Greatest Derbies". World Soccer. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  6. ^ April 2016, Gary Parkinson 29. "FourFourTwo's 50 Biggest Derbies in the World, No.10: Al Ahly vs Zamalek". fourfourtwo.com.
  7. ^ "Zamalek to face penalties after Cairo derby incidents, confirms EFA". kingfut.com. 25 February 2020.
  8. ^ "LDC CAF: Défait au Caire face à Zamalek, le Raja quitte la compétition aux portes de la finale". Hespress Français. November 4, 2020.
  9. ^ "Mosimane guides Al Ahly to record-extending ninth Caf Champions League title". Goal.com. 27 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage - All About Zamalek VS Ahly Matches". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  11. ^ "Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage - All About Zamalek VS Ahly Matches". www.egyptianfootball.net. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  12. ^ "Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage - All About Zamalek VS Ahly Matches". www.egyptianfootball.net. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  13. ^ "Cairo League 1941 1942 Zamalek 6 0 Ahly". Dr.Tarek Said’s Homepage.
  14. ^ "Egyptian Cup Final 1943/44". Dr.Tarek Said’s Homepage.
  15. ^ "1936/37 Egyptian Cup Quarter Final". Dr.Tarek Said’s Homepage.
  16. ^ "Zamalek 1 6 Ahly Date: 16 May 2002". Dr.Tarek Said’s Homepage.
  17. ^ "Cairo Zone 1930/1931 Zamalek 0 4 Ahly". Dr.Tarek Said’s Homepage.
  18. ^ "1937 38 Cairo Zone League Zamalek 1 5 Ahly". Dr.Tarek Said’s Homepage.
  19. ^ "Dr. Tarek Said's Homepage - All About Zamalek vs Ahly Matches". www.egyptianfootball.net. Retrieved 2020-08-22.

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