Football | CAF Champions League
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The Sea Robbers will venture into the Arab Constructors Stadium with a slight psychological edge following their 3-0 victory against Al Ahly in Cairo during the group stages. Nevertheless, neutrals will point to the fact that Al Ahly were fasting on that particular day and that the match was actually not played in Cairo.
Stakes are even higher now as the Egyptians are on the verge of their eighth African title. In addition to that, they will be playing in front of their home crowd. It is not surprising then that the mind games have already started with news filtering through to SA that the Buccaneers have been dumped into some unsatisfactory lodgings. Pirates can expect the heat to intensify when the match kicks off with local fans likely to make the 90 minutes unbearable.
Pirates will do well to ignore all of that and focus on the mission at hand. All they have to do to realise their ambition is to chalk up a convincing home victory and the second star will be theirs. That is not an impossible dream as Pirates have proved in the past, where they notched up victories against all expectations.
The Buccaneers had to face some pretty tough opponents on their way to the final - TP Mazembe, Zamalek, Al Ahly and Esperance TP, who are all regarded as Champions League royalty on the continent. Between them they have won 19 Caf Champions League titles.
About Al Ahly
Established in 1907, Al Ahly started dominating Egyptian football in the 1940s, eventually shining in continental competition by winning the now-called CAF Champions League in 1982.They have gone on to claim the event a further six times – in 1987, 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2012 – making them record winners of the showpiece.
Al Ahly have also won an unmatched four African Cup Winners’ Cups, five Caf Super Cups and thirty-six Egyptian Premier League titles.
The year 2005 was perhaps their finest, as they went en route to winning the League, the League Cup, The Champions League and the Egyptian Super Cup - a feat yet to be bettered.
However, the next year saw the side, under the same coaching of Portuguese Manuel Jose, record their best trophy haul, adding the Caf Super Cup and a Fifa Club World Cup bronze medal – the continent’s first –to the four titles they successfully defended from the season before.
The Club’s – and Egyptian football’s – darkest hour occurred on 1 February 2012, when 79 fans were killed in a politically motivated attack at Port Said Stadium. The massacre happened straight after Al Ahly played Al-Masry in a League game.
Al Ahly , who play out of the 75 000-seater Cairo Stadium, were crowned Caf’s African Club of the Century in 2000, narrowly beating fierce rivals Zamalek to the honour.
Local fans may recall Al Ahly beating Mamelodi Sundowns 4-1 across two legs in the 2001 Champions League final, inflicting a 3-0 scoreline on Downs in the return duel on home turf.
Ahly endured their first loss to a South African team in 2008, going down 1-0 to Platinum Stars in the third round of Caf’s premier cup competition. They bounced back, however, with a 2-0 triumph in the second leg.
Road to Final
Preliminary RoundOrlando Pirates 5-0 Djabal
Djabal 0-4 Orlando Pirates
(Pirates through 9-0 on aggregate)
The Sea Robbers marked their return to continental football with a loud bang as they hammered Djabal 9-0 on aggregate. That signaled their intentions in this inter-continental club competition.
Round of 16
Zanaco 0-1 Orlando PiratesOrlando Pirates 2-1 Zanaco
(Aggregate: 3-1 to Pirates)
Then it was off to Zambia for the men in black and white for a date with Zanaco. It was a hard fight but Pirates prevailed with 1-0 away win and finished the business at Orlando with a 2-1 feat. That gave them a 3-1 aggregate win and a ticket to the next round.
When the identity of their next opponents was revealed many thought that would spell the end of their road but not so for Pirates and their coach Roger de Sa who, despite all the success, could not warm the hearts of some Pirates followers.
Round of Eight
Orlando Pirates 3-1 TP MazembeTP Mazembe 1-0 Orlando Pirates
(Aggregate: 3-2 to Pirates)
The first leg of this encounter was eventful. A member of the TP Mazembe travelling party could not stomach the 3-1 beating and struck the referee at the conclusion of the match. Caf did not take kindly to that and slapped the club with a $5 000 fine.
The stage was set for a dramatic and electrifying second leg. The DR Congo club tried every trick in the book but the Sea Robbers were unrelenting. They held their nerve despite some interesting officiating in the second leg and managed to go through to the group stages with a 3-2 aggregate win.
Group Stages
Week 1: Orlando Pirates 0-0 AC LeopardsWeek 2: Al Ahly 0-3 Orlando Pirates
Week 3: Orlando Pirates 4-1 Zamalek
Week 4: Zamalek 2-1 Orlando Pirates
Week 5: AC Leopards 1-0 Orlando Pirates
Week 6: Orlando Pirates 0-0 Al Ahly
In the group stages, for many, Pirates seemed as good as dead in the water as they were pitted against seven-time winners and defending champions Al Ahly, another Egyptian giant Zamalek as well as Congolese club AC Leopards.
The odds were heavily stacked against Pirates and a 0-0 draw at home to AC Leopards would have only served to heighten such doubts. De Sa’s men confounded their critics as they went to Cairo and smashed Al Ahly 3-0 before returning home to hand another Egyptian giant Zamalek a 4-1 battering.
A semifinal place appeared as good as guaranteed until a 2-1 collapse to Zamalek and a 1-0 defeat away to AC Leopards. Nevertheless a 0-0 draw in the final group stage match against Al Ahly was enough to see Pirates through.
Semifinals
Orlando Pirates 0-0 Esperance TPEsperance TP 1-1 Orlando Pirates
(Pirates win on away goals rule)
The semifinal draw also threw up another tough cookie in Esperance but Pirates put one foot in the final following a 0-0 draw at Orlando Stadium. They went to Tunis knowing the pressure would be on the home side and secured a place in the final thanks to a 1-1 draw.
WHAT THEY SAID
"It will be tough for us in Egypt… it is important that that we do our work at home, but for that we need the guys in the stands… With our fans behind us, nothing can stop us. It is always good to play in front on a huge crowd especially at home."This is a decisive match and the team that capitalises on the chances they get (particularly) at home will stand a great chance of adding the coveted star on their badge," said Daine Klate.
"This is the defining moment not just for Orlando Pirates but for our football in general. The last time we won this competition was back in 1995 and that is a long time ago. Pirates have shown that with a good plan, more commitment and dedication, we can do well in these competitions. It has not been an easy journey for them but they walked the talk and now they are standing at the gates of glory. I believe this is where we come in as fellow South Africans,” said Safa president Dr Danny Jordaan.
"Pirates are not doing this for themselves but for the country. Remember after their famous victory in 1995 our football blossomed and we went on to win the 1996 African Cup of Nations. To Roger, his technical team and the players, this is the moment you have all been dreaming of. Now it has come – go out there and do the best you can and we know you will deliver. Forget about your past result against Al Ahly as it will not matter this time around. Get a good result at home and you have one hand on the trophy,” said Bafana coach Gordon Igesund.
"This is a big moment for South Africa and Southern African football. We have waited for almost two decades for one of our clubs to win the Caf Champions League and Orlando Pirates are just two games away from reclaiming continental victory. This is a proud moment for me as a CEO of the League and a South African,” Premier Soccer League CEO Brand De Villiers said.
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