The 2022/23 CAF Champions League has come to an end and Al Ahly have once again been crowned champions, but their path to a record 11th competition title showed that beautiful football will not win you the continent's biggest prize. Opinion by @OfficialKLM_.
Check Out: Vonk: I Was Disappointed Not Play Against Man Utd Real In UCL
After a disastrous end to last season, when they finished outside of the Egyptian Premier League top two for the first time in 30 years, the Red Devils were resurrected and have now completed their ascent back to the apex of African football. Marcel Koller's side drew 1-1 with defending champions Wydad Athletic Club in the second leg at the Stade Mohammed V this past weekend to see the Swiss tactician become the first Ahly head coach to thwart the Red Castle in the final of the Champions League.
One could've been under the assumption that they were about to tune into premier football as the second leg of the final loomed in Casablanca, but it was anything but. The game was ugly and was won with guile rather than any actual footballing ability. It was littered with time-wasting tactics and unnecessary fouls as the 90 minutes lacked a general fluidity you would associate with top-level football, and ultimately it was a 78th-minute Mohamed Abdelmonem header that decided the encounter as the Egyptians won 3-2 on aggregate.
Generally speaking, neither one of the finalists played an aesthetically pleasing brand of football throughout the tournament. The newly crowned champions had spurts in matches where they were able to create magical goals, often created by South Africa's very owner Percy Tau and his fellow winger Hussein El Shahat. Those two are able of concocting moments of brilliance out of nothing, but outside of the duo's play, the team was premised on keeping a solid shape in midfield and defence, as well as capitalising on set-pieces.
The same goes for Wydad. The Moroccans made it out of their group without playing any exhilarating football and that came to the fore when they played Tanzanian giants Simba. The Reds of Msimbazi, who traditionally struggle against north African opposition, came within a penalty shootout of eliminating the then-defending champions, but the three-time tournament winners were ultimately victorious. They would go on to face Mamelodi Sundowns who, up until that semi-final, were adjudged by many to be the competition favourites.
The DStv Premiership juggernauts managed to get the better of Sven Vandenbroeck's men in terms of football, but it was then that Wydad's experience in these stages of the Champions League told. The Botola Pro side came to South Africa knowing they could not outplay Masandawana given how the first leg transpired, when Sundowns dominated possession despite playing most of the match with 10 men. So instead of going toe to toe with Rhulani Mokwena's men, Wydad employed the aforementioned dark arts. That, coupled with the pressure of playing in such a situation, ultimately saw the Tshwane side being eliminated by the African football giants.
Sundowns were the continent's best chance of seeing any semblance of a cohesive match because of Mokwena's insistence of playing out of from the back and being extremely offensive-minded in the way his side presses and, consequently, attacks.
Check Out: 7 Stars Confirmed To Be Leaving Their Current Clubs For Free
While this way of playing may be nice to watch, it does not seem to do much on the biggest stages of African football. North African teams are adept at stalling matches in order to increase the pressure for the opposition. The ability to constantly do this puts a team like Sundowns out of their natural rhythm and they struggle to play the way they are accustomed to as a result. The Champions League final was not a good advertisement for African football, but part of being a serial winner is not about how it gets done, just that it gets done in the first place, and the latest iteration of Africa's premier club competition was testimony to that.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH VIDEO:
