Cairo derby

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Cairo derby
Al Ahly and Zamalek's kits
LocationCairo, Egypt
TeamsAl Ahly SC
Zamalek SC
First meetingAl Ahly 1–0 Zamalek
Friendly
(9 February 1917)
Latest meetingZamalek 2–1 Al Ahly
Egyptian Premier League
(15 April 2024)
StadiumsCairo International Stadium
Statistics
Meetings total249
Most winsAl Ahly (109)
Most player appearancesHossam Ashour (34)
Top scorerAbdel-Karim Sakr (19)
Largest victoryZamalek 6–0 Al Ahly
1941-42 Cairo League
(2 January 1942)
Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly
1944 Egypt Cup final
(2 June 1944)

The Cairo Derby (Arabic: ديربي القاهرة) is a rivalry between Egyptian football clubs Al Zamalek and Al Ahly, arguably the two most successful clubs in Egypt and Africa. Al Ahly and Zamalek were named by the 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[edit]

Al Ahly and Zamalek's 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. Also, it was chosen one of the five of the toughest derbies in the world according by the BBC.

Cairo derby ending with a draw, 21 December 1928

In the first half of the 20th 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 14 times.

One of the unforgettable matches in the history of the Sultan Hussein Cup was the 1930 derby, despite that the two belligerents failed to win this season's title, the match was of a high level of intensity and had much media attention. Zamalek faced Al Ahly in a purely Egyptian contest, in which Zamalek knocked Al Ahly out of the competition, after defeating them with a score of 3–1 in the semi-finals. Zamalek's goals were scored by Mohamed Latif and Mostafa Taha (two goals), while Al Ahly's goal was scored by Mahmoud Mokhtar El Tetsh.[2]

The largest winning margin in this derby was 6–0 for Zamalek, which has been achieved 2 times.[3][4] The first time was the 1942 Cairo Derby on January 2, 1942 in the 1941–42 Cairo League,[5] and the second time was on June 2, 1944, when Zamalek was known as Farouk back then, at the 1944 Egypt Cup Final.[6][7]

الملك_فاروق_ومحمد_حيدر_في_نهائي_كأس_مصر_1944
King Farouk attending Cairo Derby in the 1944 Egypt Cup final, ended with the largest win in the history of the derby with a 6–0 win for Zamalek, 2 June 1944

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.[8] 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.[9]

Non-Egyptian referees are often flown in to officiate the derby to ensure impartiality.[10] In 2008 , World Soccer Magazine selected the Cairo Derby as the 10th most fierce derby in the world.[11] Besides the estimated 50 million domestic TV audience, the game is huge all over North Africa, the Middle East and the entire world.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15]

The Meetings[edit]

Key[edit]

Colors
  Al Ahly win
  Draw
  Zamalek win
Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
49 50 28

Egypt Cup[edit]

These are the meetings in the Egypt Cup[17]

Season Round Home team Score Away team
1927–28 Final Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly
1928–29 quarter-final Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly
1930–31 Final Zamalek 1–4 Al Ahly
1931–32 Final Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly
1932–33 semi-final Al Ahly 3–1 Zamalek
1933–34 semi-final Zamalek 3–0 Al Ahly
1934–35 Final Zamalek 3–0 Al Ahly
1936–37 quarter-final Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly
quarter-final Replay Zamalek 2–2 Al Ahly
quarter-final Replay Zamalek 0–5 Al Ahly
1937–38 Final Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly
Final Replay Zamalek 1–0 Al Ahly
1941–42 Final Al Ahly 3–0 Zamalek
1943–44 Final Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly
1947–48 semi-final Al Ahly 1–2 Zamalek
1948–49 Final Zamalek 1–3 Al Ahly
1951–52 Final Zamalek 2–0 Al Ahly
1952–53 Final Al Ahly 4–1 Zamalek
1957–58 Final Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly
Final Replay Al Ahly 2–2 Zamalek
1958–59 Final Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly
1977–78 Final Al Ahly 4–2 Zamalek
1984–85 quarter-final Al Ahly 3–2 Zamalek
1988–89 quarter-final Al Ahly 2–1 Zamalek
1990–91 semi-final Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek
1991–92 Final Al Ahly 2–1 Zamalek
2005–06 Final Al Ahly 3–0 Zamalek
2006–07 Final Al Ahly 4–3 Zamalek
2009–10 Round of 16 Al Ahly 3–1 Zamalek
2014–15 Final Zamalek 2–0 Al Ahly
2015–16 Final Zamalek 3–1 Al Ahly
2020–21 Final Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly
2022–23 Final Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek
Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
17 5 11

Egyptian Super Cup[edit]

Zamalek against Al Ahly in the 2015–16 Egyptian Super Cup

These are the meetings in the Egyptian Super Cup

Date Home team Score Away team
2003–04 Al Ahly 0–0 (3–1 p) Zamalek
2008–09 Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek
2014–15 Al Ahly 0–0 (5–4 p) Zamalek
2015–16 Zamalek 2–3 Al Ahly
2016–17 Al Ahly 0–0 (1–3 p) Zamalek
2018–19 Al Ahly 3–2 Zamalek
2019–20 Al Ahly 0–0 (3–4 p) Zamalek
2021–22 Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek
Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
4 4 0

CAF Champions League[edit]

These are the meetings in the CAF Champions league[18]

Season Round Home team Score Away team
2004–05 Semi-final Zamalek 1–2 Al Ahly
Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek
2007–08 Group stage Al Ahly 2–1 Zamalek
Al Ahly 2–2 Zamalek
2011–12 Group stage Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly
Al Ahly 1–1 Zamalek
2012–13 Group stage Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly
Al Ahly 4–2 Zamalek
2019–20 Final Zamalek 1–2 Al Ahly
Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
6 3 0

CAF Super Cup[edit]

This is the only meeting in the CAF Super Cup[19]

Season Round Home team Score Away team
1994 Final Zamalek 1–0 Al Ahly
Al Ahly wins Draws Zamalek wins
0 0 1

African Game of the 20th Century[edit]

Main article: 1994 CAF Super Cup

After Zamalek won the 1993 African Cup of Champions Clubs and Al Ahly won the 1993 African Cup Winners' Cup. The CAF Super Cup presented the first encounter between the two rivals in a continental match. Zamalek were the last Egyptian League winners and Ahly were the last winners of the Egypt Cup as well. The match was highly anticipated and publicized in Africa. It took place on 16 January 1994, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, as a neutral stadium. In the 86th minute, Ayman Mansour scored Zamalek's winning goal after firing a shot from 25 yards to the right corner of the net and past Ahmed Shobair. Zamalek won the CAF Super Cup for the first time for an Egyptian team and in the 2nd edition of the new tournament.[20]

African Game of the 21st Century[edit]

Main article: 2020 CAF Champions League final

On 27 November 2020, Al Ahly and Zamalek for the first time faced off each other in the CAF Champions League final. This match is known as the African Game of the Century as the 2 greatest clubs of Africa were facing off each other for the Champions League trophy. The match was played behind closed doors of the Cairo International Stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has spread around the globe rapidly. El Solia scored the first goal of the match and for Al Ahly on the 5th minute with a header while Shikabala equalized for Zamalek on the 31st minute. after 85 minutes and 45 seconds onto the game, Afsha got the winning goal for Al Ahly, controlling the ball on his knee outside the penalty area after a clearance, before volleying to the right corner of the net and past Gabaski. Al Ahly for the first time since 2013 and for the 9th in total lifted the CAF Champions League trophy, Momen Zakaria who was forced to retire from his football career due to suffering from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis got the chance to lift the cup for Al Ahly. Al Ahly were able to defend their title for the 2021 tournament hence lifted its 10th CAF Champions League trophy.

Statistics[edit]

As of match played 15 April 2024

Matches Wins Draws
Al Ahly Zamalek
League 127 49 28 50
Cup 33 17 11 5
Super Cup 8 4 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 226 98 52 76
Friendly 23 11 8 4
All matches 249 109 60 80
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
2012–13 1 3
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
2021–22 3 1
2022–23 1 3
League champions 14 6
Top three 21 18
  League champions
  Egypt Cup
  League/Cup double

Records[edit]

Biggest wins (4+ goals)[edit]

Winning margin Result Date Competition
6 Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly 2 January 1942 Cairo League[21]
Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly 2 June 1944 Egypt Cup[22]
5 Al Ahly 5–0 Zamalek 30 May 1937
Al Ahly 6–1 Zamalek 16 May 2002 Egyptian League[23]
4 Al Ahly 4–0 Zamalek 28 November 1930 Cairo League
Al Ahly 5–1 Zamalek 8 January 1937
Al Ahly 5–1 Zamalek 25 February 1938

Top goal-scorers[edit]

Player[24] Club Goals
Egypt Abdel-Karim Sakr Al Ahly (10)
Zamalek (9) 		19
Egypt Mostafa Taha Zamalek (12)
Al Ahly (5) 		17
Egypt Aboutrika Al Ahly 13
Egypt Mokhtar El Tetsh Al Ahly 13
Egypt Ahmed Mekkawi Al Ahly 11
Egypt Labib Mahmoud Al Ahly (8)
Zamalek (2) 		10
Egypt Emad Moteab Al Ahly 10
Egypt El-Sayed Ateya "Toto" Al Ahly 10
Egypt Alaa El-Hamouly Zamalek 9
Egypt El Dhizui Al Ahly 9
Egypt Hossam Hassan Al Ahly (5)
Zamalek (4) 		9
Egypt Gamal Hamza Zamalek 8

Hat-tricks[edit]

# Player For Score Date Competition
1. Egypt Mokhtar El Tetsh Al Ahly 4–0 28 November 1930 Cairo League
2. Egypt Abdel-Karim Sakr Al Ahly 5–0 30 May 1937 Egypt Cup
4. Egypt Zoklot Zamalek 6–0 2 Jun 1944
4. Egypt El Sayed Ateya "Toto" Al Ahly 4–2 26 March 1953 Egyptian Premier League
5. Egypt Khaled Bebo Al Ahly 6–1 16 May 2002

Honours[edit]

Al Ahly Competition Zamalek
Domestic
43 Egyptian Premier League 14
39 Egypt Cup 28
14 Egyptian Super Cup 4
7 Sultan Hussein Cup (defunct) 2
16 Cairo League (defunct) 14
0 Egyptian Friendship Cup (defunct) 1
1 United Arab Republic Cup (defunct) 0
0 October League Cup (defunct) 1
1 Egyptian Confederation Cup (defunct) 1
121 Aggregate 65
African and Worldwide
11 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
25 Aggregate 13
UAFA and Regional competitions
1 Arab Club Champions Cup 1
1 Arab Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) 0
2 Arab Super Cup (defunct) 0
0 Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup 2
4 Aggregate 3
150 Total Aggregate 81

Players who played for both clubs[edit]

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

Al Ahly, then Zamalek[edit]

Name Pos Al Ahly Zamalek
Career Apps Goals Career Apps Goals
Egypt Hussein Hegazi FW 1915–1923
1928–1929		 ? ? 1923–28
1929–31		 ? ?
Egypt Abdel-Karim Sakr FW 1935–39 ? ? 1939–53 ? ?
Egypt Gamal Abdel-Hamid FW 1977–82 ? ? 1983–93 ? ?
Egypt Ayman Shawky FW 1984–94 ? ? 1995–96 ? ?
Egypt Mohamed Abdel-Galil MF 1988–95 ? ? 1995–97 ? ?
Egypt Hossam Hassan FW 1985–99 231 109 2000–04 61 38
Egypt Ibrahim Hassan DF 1985–99 177 4 2000–04 47 4
Ghana Felix Aboagye FW 1993–98 117 47 2001–02 20 5
Egypt Ibrahim Said DF 1998–03 76 18 2004–06 27 4
Egypt Osama Hassan DF 1999–01 0 0 2006–09 30 4
Egypt Ahmed Magdy DF 2004–05 0 0 2007–10 75 6
Egypt Sherif Ashraf FW 2005–07 0 0 2008–09 52 14
Egypt Mohamed Abdullah DF 2005–07 ? ? 2008–09 30 0
Egypt Hany Said DF 1997–98 12 2 2008–11 76 4
Egypt Hassan Mostafa MF 2003–09 ? ? 2009–11 41 3
Qatar Hussein Yasser MF 2008–10 20 1 2010–11 33 8
Egypt Essam El Hadary GK 1996–08 510 1 2010–11 4 0
Egypt Ahmed Hassan MF 2008–11 58 22 2011–13 26 14
Mauritania Dominique Da Sylva FW 2011–13 31 5 2013–14 10 3
Egypt Abdallah El-Said MF 2011–18 16 4 2024–present 2 0

Zamalek, then Al Ahly[edit]

Name Pos Zamalek Al Ahly
Career Apps Goals Career Apps Goals
Egypt Labib Mahmoud FW 1923–1931 ? ? 1931–1940 ? ?
Egypt Reda Abdel-Aal MF 1987–93 ? ? 1993–98 ? ?
Egypt Magdy Tolba MF 1983–89 ? ? 1995–98 ? ?
Egypt Islam El-Shater DF 2003–04 ? ? 2004–08 ? ?
Egypt Nader El-Sayed GK 1992–98 103 0 2005–06 2 0
Egypt Tarek El-Said MF 1998–06 132 23 2006–08 ? ?
Egypt Mohamed Sedik DF 2002–06 56 2 2006–07 ? ?
Egypt Moataz Eno MF 2002–07 60 5 2007–12 49 2
Egypt Hany El-Agazy FW 2006–07 1 0 2008–11 12 5
Egypt Sabry Raheel DF 2009–13 61 11 2013–19 79 0
Egypt Moamen Zakaria MF 2013–14 51 12 2015–19 93 30
Egypt Kahraba FW 2015–19 56 30 2019–
Egypt Yasser Ibrahim DF 2013–15 10 1 2019– 21 1
Egypt Emam Ashour MF 2019–23 102 15 2023–

References[edit]

  1. ^ Grant Wahl, American Pharaoh: Ex-U.S. coach Bradley has Egypt on brink of World Cup Archived 2014-02-26 at the Wayback Machine, Sports Illustrated, Published 9 October 2013, Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  2. ^ Emara, Mohamed (2020-07-12). "الكأس السلطانية .. مهد ميلاد البطولات المصرية | كورابيديا - koraapedia". koraapedia.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  3. ^ "معلومة رياضية.. الزمالك فاز على الأهلى 6 / 0 مرتين فى مباريات القمة". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2020-12-22. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  4. ^ "Cairo Derby: Al Ahly vs Zamalek – Rivalry Reignited in Egypt Cup Final". egy24.com. 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  5. ^ "بالأرقام والفيديو .. فوز الزمالك على الأهلي 6–0 مرتين من أكبر نتائج القمة – الرياضة". أخبارك.نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  6. ^ "Al Ahly vs Zamalek: The Fiercest Derby in the Middle East". OneFootball (in French). 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  7. ^ "#هذا_اليوم.. فاروق 6–0 الأهلي.. قصة أول سداسية في القمة". يلاكورة.كوم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  8. ^ "«شغب» الملاعب المصرية: بدأ 1971.. و«بورسعيد» و«الدفاع الجوي» الأكثر دموية". almasryalyoum.com (in Arabic). 9 February 2015.
  9. ^ Shenker, Jack (28 June 2011). "New Egypt sees old sporting rivalry resume". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  10. ^ "The world's most violent derby: Al Ahly v Zamalek". The Guardian. 18 July 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  11. ^ "World Soccer's 50 Greatest Derbies". World Soccer. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  12. ^ April 2016, Gary Parkinson 29. "FourFourTwo's 50 Biggest Derbies in the World, No.10: Al Ahly vs Zamalek". fourfourtwo.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Zamalek to face penalties after Cairo derby incidents, confirms EFA". kingfut.com. 25 February 2020.
  14. ^ "LDC CAF: Défait au Caire face à Zamalek, le Raja quitte la compétition aux portes de la finale". Hespress Français. November 4, 2020.
  15. ^ "Mosimane guides Al Ahly to record-extending ninth Caf Champions League title". Goal.com. 27 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage – All About Zamalek VS Ahly Matches". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  17. ^ "Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage – All About Zamalek VS Ahly Matches". www.egyptianfootball.net. Retrieved 2020-08-22.
  18. ^ "Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage – All About Zamalek VS Ahly Matches". www.egyptianfootball.net. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  19. ^ "Zamalek 1–0 Al Ahly SC – January 16, 1994 / CAF Super Cup 1994". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  20. ^ "Zamalek 1–0 Al Ahly Cairo – January 16, 1994 / CAF Super Cup 1994".
  21. ^ "Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage – Zamalek Versus Ahly Matches 1997/98". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  22. ^ "Egyptian Cup Final 1943/44". Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage.
  23. ^ "Zamalek 1 6 Ahly Date: 16 May 2002". Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage.
  24. ^ "Dr. Tarek Said's Homepage – All About Zamalek vs Ahly Matches". www.egyptianfootball.net. Retrieved 2020-08-22.

External links[edit]

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