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Clash of the Reds

Written by Sir-Kiko

It's always an interesting period at the beginning of each season. Ahlawi and RRFC have common situations and both need a win on Saturday.

Another season over with all the ups and downs. It's been a relatively short season somehow with all the holidays. Teams are all fighting for places in the higher divisions and competition stakes are sky high.

The highlighted match in this Qualification round is an all-red clash between 2nd division strugglers Ahlawi, and their counter-parts in division 3, Royal Reds FC. It will be very interesting to see each manager's approach to this game, as they seem to differ in tactics and players.

Some facts about both teams:

Ahlawi (as of Jan. 13th '09)

Rank: 28
Silverware: 3 Division III titles, 1 Division IV title
Squad Size: 29 players
Nationalities: 19
Average Age: 32

Royal Reds FC (as of Jan. 13th '09)

Rank: 45
Silverware: 1 Division II title, 2 Division III titles, 2 Division IV titles
Squad Size: 24 players
Nationalities: 11
Average Age: 24

Looking at the history of both teams, Ahlawi has the advantage of playing at a higher level of football in Division II. Even though RRFC have played top flight for a season, they've dropped to 3rd division again. Ahlawi are yet to win a Division II title, ranked 3rd at their best. They will have a shot at that next season if they are able to come out as winners on Saturday.

Saturday's game will be played in Misr's metropolitan capital of Cairo at the 68,000-seater Saleh Selim stadium. The immense structure has been rennovated recently and facilities are top notch.

The main differences between the teams overall are fitness, experience & diversity. RRFC have a significantly higher level of fitness than Ahlawi, however when experience comes into question, there's no doubt that the years are in for Ahlawi. It shows when comparing the 32-year average age of Ahlawi to RRFC's 24-year average age. The Ahlawi squad consists of 19 nationalities. They enjoy more diversity than RRFC's 11 nationality-base players.

It eventually comes down to the starting 11 of each team. Comparing both, RRFC has a large base of local players, 3 of which represented the U20 national team. On the other hand, Ahlawi is totally free of Egyptians. Skills are more or less closely bonded and it should be a good game to watch.

There are still a number of rumors and speculation around both clubs about new prospective signings. Officials from both clubs however denied most of the reports. We've only managed to get a few words off the RRFC Administration about the new signings. Club owner and chairman Kareem Sadek stated, "We will not be spending a lot this time around, we've built a great squad this season and there are only 1 or 2 positions that need to be strengthened. I believe our scouts will report back with some good prospects."

Both teams are eager to come out on top. Ahlawi's ambitions could be supported by spending yet another season in 2nd division, while RRFC could really up their level of playing, after dominating their league, conceding just 6 goals in 14 games. RRFC's area of concentration is usually defence, as opposed to Ahlawi's overall tactical balance.

Predicted lineups:

Ahlawi: Steffan, Fletcher, Coulen, Unt, Ogarkov, Berends, Widerblom, Walker, Verhelst, Aranyos-Rakosi, Kemme
Royal Reds FC: Fontenelle, Samir, El-Gibril, Al-Malik, A. Aziz, U. Aziz, Sulaiman, Pellarin, Walldahl, Nicolescu, Zinnenburg