Egyptian giants Al Ahly will look to extend their winning streak in the Egyptian Premier League on Wednesday when they take on Smouha at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.
Al Ahly is currently on a 16-game winning run in the league this season and could equal the record they set in 2004/2005 when they won their first 17 matches.
The 41-time champions are currently 15 points ahead of second-placed Arab Contractors and 19 points ahead of Pyramids F.C. in third.
Al Ahly, named African Club of the Century by CAF in 2000, go into Wednesday’s match as favourites having not lost to Smouha in their last 10 meetings in all competitions.
Even though Al Ahly fans are used to success, some credit the management of the club and players as a major factor behind this season’s extraordinary run.
“I think it normal that Al Ahly is doing very well. The club is seeing a lot of management stability. Stability reflects on their performance and their results, those are normal. Also, players get their full package of rights; therefore, they exert their efforts for the team. They also defend jealously,” Khalek El Sheikh told CGTN Africa.
For some fans, they want to see local success translated into continental success. Al Ahly are eight-time winners of the CAF Champions League but last lifted the trophy in 2013.
“I think we’ve already won the league. Two matches remain in round one, if we win, no one will be able to catch us. Still, we want to expand that success to Africa,” Mohamed Abdel Wahab said.
Some fans have likened Al Ahly’s success this season to that of English Premier League leaders Liverpool who went on an 18-game winning streak before a 3-0 loss to Watford ended their run.
Ahmed Mostafa said: “Despite the fact that the two teams are far away from each other, there are similarities. Liverpool is playing in the Champions League Al Ahly is also doing well in the CAF Champions League. Both teams are performing well. Al Ahly is on a winning streak and reaching a high performance standard.”
In December 2004, Al Ahly, under legendary manager Manuel Jose, became the first Egyptian club to win all its matches in the first half of a season since the league’s inception in 1948 when they won 13 matches in a row.
Al Ahly also holds the record for the longest unbeaten run in the league after they avoided defeat for 71 matches between 2004 and 2007. In 2017, Al Ahly became the first team to go through an entire Egyptian Premier League season unbeaten since it began featuring more than 14 teams.
