Farouk Gaafar says Al Ahly-Zamalek showdowns follow no fixed rules

Farouk Gaafar, a former Zamalek star, says major clashes with Al Ahly follow no fixed criteria. In their latest meeting, the sides were evenly matched: Al Ahly had the upper hand in the first half, while Zamalek looked better after the break but failed to score. Mohamed Hany scored a goal that Gaafar believes is worth studying.

Gaafar described an attacking start from Al Ahly, who controlled the first half and capped their dominance with a goal. After the break, Zamalek became more threatening and reached the opposition goal more often, but could not convert its chances to equalise.

The former player pointed to Zamalek’s lack of a centre-forward able to turn chances into goals, which he considers one of the main reasons the team failed to come back. He also said both goals conceded by Zamalek resulted from defensive errors. On the first, he cited poor passing and positioning, as well as a lack of defensive compactness, which helped Al Ahly get forward. By contrast, he praised Mohamed Hany’s finish for the way he made the most of the opportunity.

Speaking on « Ya Massa Al Anwar », broadcast on MBC Masr 2, Gaafar said small details matter in these showdowns: taking chances, avoiding mistakes and maintaining balance between defence and attack can decide the outcome.