Two great names in African soccer – who have clashed with some great names in South African soccer – will meet in the final of the African Champions Cup
SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi
SHOOTING STARS of Nigeria and Zamalek of Egypt, the clubs who will contest the biggest club event on the African soccer calendar, need little introduction to South Africans.
Stars, who host the first leg on Saturday before travelling to Cairo for the return match two weeks later, eliminated African Champions Cup title holders Orlando Pirates in the quarter-finals.
The high-profile clash produced two intense matches with the Buccaneers winning 1-0 in Bloemfontein through an early penalty kick converted by midfielder Dumisa Ngobe.
There was a similar score in the return match, this time favouring the Nigerians, and with the teams level on aggregate the tie was decided by a penalty shootout which Stars won 4-3.
Zamalek have made two excursions to the home of South African soccer at FNB Stadium with Kaizer Chiefs defeating them 2-1 in the first leg of a 1993 Champions Cup tie.
The Amakhosi lost the return match 1-0 to fall under the away-goal rule and Zamalek went on to win the trophy a record-equalling third time by defeating famous Ghanaian club Asante Kotoko.
This triumph qualified Zamalek for the African Super Cup, an annual showdown between the Champions Cup and Cup-winners Cup holders, and the Egyptians flew to the other end of the continent to confront compatriots Al-Ahly.
Zamalek triumphed 1-0 in a dull, defensive match which attracted 20 000 to Soccer City on a grey, wet afternoon. Sense has since prevailed regarding the venue with the champion club staging the event.
Any contest between skilful, inspirational West Africans and disciplined, technically gifted North Africans carries enormous potential and this match could produce one of the greatest finals in the 32-year history of the cup.
The clubs also met in the 1984 decider with Zamalek winning 2-0 in Cairo and 1-0 in Lagos against a Stars side that included Rashidi Yekini, who went on to become one of the best forwards on the continent.
That three-goal victory margin is unlikely to be repeated as Stars appear capable of providing much stiffer opposition this time, especially in the first leg at the 50 000- capacity Liberty Stadium in Ibadan.
Stars have lost only once there, a shock 2-1 defeat by Zimbabwe visitors Dynamos 15 years ago in a match this writer was privileged to attend as a member of the Harare delegation.
Dynamos returned there this year with considerable less luck, crumbling 5-1 to the rampant Nigerians, who had struck four past Gabonese club Mangasport in the previous round.
The goal supply dried up somewhat after that with just one against Pirates and two against JS Kabylie from Algeria in the semi- finals. Little known Kalu Umar is the leading individual scorer with five of the 14 goals.
Zamalek are more renowned for defensive qualities than attacking prowess and they found the going even tougher in the semi- finals, scoring just once in two outings against the Tunisians from CS Sfaxien.
Sunrise of Mauritius were surprisingly stubborn first-round opponents and after receiving a bye when cash-strapped Mozambicans Desportivo withdrew, they comfortably disposed of inexperienced Moroccans Meknes.
While the Egyptians would obviously love to win in Nigeria, a draw would leave them well placed ahead of the second leg at the 120 000-seat Nasser Stadium in the heart of Cairo.
Stars must know that a one-goal advantage would do little for the blood pressure of their squad, a two-goal lead would permit them to sleep peacefully, and a three-goal victory would virtually end the final as a contest.
But whoever lifts the trophy with no name, the record books will have to be updated because if Stars triumph they will be the first champions from Nigeria, and the first club to lift the three African Football Confederation trophies.
Should Zamalek emerge victorious they will jump above Canon Yaounde of Cameroon and Hafia of Guinea in the Champions Cup honours list with four titles and claim they are the greatest club in African history.
While the champions are seeking glory in south-western Nigeria, the curtain comes down on the CAF Cup in Morocco, where Kawkab Marrakech host Tunisian outfit Etoile du Sahel.
This competition for national championship runners-up may be only four years old, but it often produces stronger line-ups and more exciting finals than the older, more prestigious Cup-winners Cup.
Etoile, whose team contains several of the Tunisian team beaten by Bafana Bafana in the 1996 African Nations Cup final, conceded an early goal in the first leg only to bounce back and win 3-1.
The victims of Marrakech include Stade Tamponnaise, the team from Reunion that upset Sundowns in the second round, and the Moroccans have averaged 2.3 goals per home match in previous rounds.
This is the first all-North African final of a cup named after jailed Nigerian political Moshood Abiola and initially dominated by Nigerian clubs, and Etoile are attempting to become the first side to successfully defend the title.