Cairo derby
| Other names | Clasico El Arab The Peak القمۃ |
|---|---|
| Location | Cairo, Egypt |
| Teams | Al Ahly SC Zamalek SC |
| First meeting | Al Ahly 1–0 Zamalek Friendly (9 February 1917) |
| Latest meeting | Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek Egyptian Premier League (24 February 2020) |
| Next meeting | TBD |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 166 |
| Most wins | Al Ahly SC (69) |
| Most player appearances | Hossam Ashour (34) |
| Top scorer | محمد ابوتريكة |
| All-time series | Al Ahly: 69 Drawn: 60 Zamalek: 37 |
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
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] They won their first league title when the Egyptian Premier League was first created in the 1948–49 season and won 39 domestic titles after that. Zamalek managed to win the league 12 times only.
the largest winning margin in the League was for Al Ahly 6–1 in the 2002 league.
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]
The Meetings
These meetings are the meetings in the League:[8]
| Season | Home | Away | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948–1949 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 4 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1949–1950 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1950–1951 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1951–1952 | No matches Due to Egyptian Revolution of 1952 | |||
| 1952–1953 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1953–1954 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 4 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 1954–1955 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1955–1956 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 1956–1957 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1957–1958 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1958–1959 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1959–1960 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1960–1961 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 4 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 3 |
| 1961–1962 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1962–1963 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | No away match due to one leg championship play-off | |
| 1963–1964 | No matches because they were in separate groups in the League | |||
| 1964–1965 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 1965–1966 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 1966–1967 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1967–1968 | No matches Due to Six-Day War & War of Attrition | |||
| 1968–1969 | ||||
| 1969–1970 | ||||
| 1970–1971 | ||||
| 1971–1972 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | No away match due to crowd violence in the first match | |
| 1972–1973 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1973–1974 | No matches due to October War | |||
| 1974–1975 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1975–1976 | No matches because they were in separate groups in the League | |||
| 1976–1977 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1977–1978 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1978–1979 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1979–1980 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1980–1981 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 1981–1982 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1982–1983 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1983–1984 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1984–1985 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1985–1986 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 1986–1987 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1987–1988 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1988–1989 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1989–1990 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | No away match due to 1990 World Cup preparation | |
| 1990–1991 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 1991–1992 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1992–1993 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 1993–1994 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 1994–1995 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1995–1996 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 |
| 1996–1997 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1997–1998 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1998–1999 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 1999–2000 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 2000–2001 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 3 |
| 2001–2002 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 6 | Zamalek SC 1 |
| 2002–2003 | Zamalek SC 3 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 2003–2004 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 2 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 0 |
| 2004–2005 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 4 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2005–2006 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2006–2007 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 2007–2008 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2008–2009 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2009–2010 | Zamalek SC 3 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2010–2011 | Zamalek SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2011–2012 | No matches Due to Port Said Stadium riot | |||
| 2012–2013 | No matches Due to June 2013 Egyptian protests | |||
| 2013–2014 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 1 | No away match due to one leg championship play-off | |
| 2014–2015 | Zamalek SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2015–2016 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2016–2017 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Al Ahly SC 2 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2017–2018 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 3 | Al Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 2 |
| 2018–2019 | Zamalek SC 0 | Al Ahly SC 0 | AL Ahly SC 1 | Zamalek SC 0 |
| 2019–2020 | Zamalek SC forfeited the match, so the result was Al Ahly SC 3–0 Zamalek SC | |||
Statistics
| Competition | Total | Al Ahly wins | Draws | Zamalek wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 119 | 45 | 48 | 26 |
| Cup | 31 | 16 | 5 | 10 |
| Super Cup | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| African Champions League | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| African Super Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 166 | 69 | 60 | 37 |
Top goalscorers
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
 Abdel-Karim Sakr[9]
|
Al Ahly (10) Zamalek (7) |
17 |
| Mostafa Taha
|
Zamalek (12) Al Ahly (3) |
15 |
| Mokhtar El-Tetsh
|
Al Ahly | 13 |
| Mohamed Aboutrika
|
Al Ahly | 13 |
| Emad Motaeb
|
Al Ahly | 10 |
| Gamal Hamza
|
Zamalek | 9 |
| Hossam Hassan
|
Al Ahly (5) Zamalek (4) |
9 |
| Alaa El-Hamouly
|
Zamalek | 8 |
| Saleh Selim
|
Al Ahly | 8 |
| Toto
|
Al Ahly | 8 |
Honours
| Al Ahly | Competition | Zamalek | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | |||
| 41 | Egyptian Premier League | 12 | |
| 36 | Egypt Cup | 27 | |
| 11 | Egyptian Super Cup | 4 | |
| 88 | Aggregate | 43 | |
| African and Worldwide | |||
| 8 | CAF Champions League | 5 | |
| 1 | CAF Confederation Cup | 1 | |
| 6 | CAF Super Cup | 4 | |
| 1 | Afro-Asian Club Championship (defunct) | 2 | |
| 4 | African Cup Winners' Cup (defunct) | 1 | |
| 20 | Aggregate | 13 | |
| 108 | Total Aggregate | 56 | |
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 | ||
| 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 |
Zamalek, then Al Ahly
| Name | Pos | Zamalek | Al Ahly | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | Apps | Goals | Career | Apps | Goals | ||
| 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 |
- Gamal Hamza signed for Al Ahly and left by mutual consent without playing any game.
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "«شغب» الملاعب المصرية: بدأ 1971.. و«بورسعيد» و«الدفاع الجوي» الأكثر دموية". almasryalyoum.com (in Arabic). 9 February 2015.
- ^ Shenker, Jack (28 June 2011). "New Egypt sees old sporting rivalry resume". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ^ "The world's most violent derby: Al Ahly v Zamalek". The Guardian. 18 July 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "World Soccer's 50 Greatest Derbies". World Soccer. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ^ https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/fourfourtwos-50-biggest-derbies-world-no10-al-ahly-vs-zamalek
- ^ "Zamalek to face penalties after Cairo derby incidents, confirms EFA". kingfut.com. 25 February 2020.
- ^ Egypt, Dr. Tarek Said ,Cairo ,. "Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage - All About Zamalek VS Ahly Matches". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ http://www.filgoal.com/Arabic/News.aspx?NewsID=163807
External links
- Zamalek - Al Ahly (Results), Football Derbies
- Cairo derby divides an entire nation, Reuters
- Cairo giants get ready for battle, FIFA official website
- Egypt's big two meet in showdown, FIFA official website
- Cairo's ancient rivalry (in Arabic)