Derby Day Looms: Zamalek and Al-Ahli Bank Set to Clash in Highly Anticipated League Showdown

Zamalek Club’s first football team will host its opponents Al-Ahly Bank in the first round of the General League Championship to be held at the Al-Salam Stadium this Friday evening.

Zamalek entered the match looking to get off to a strong start to the league and secure the first three points on their way to regaining the title they missed two years ago, as Zamalek clinched their last league title in 2022.

White Castle’s first-team technical director Portuguese Jose Gomez has spent the past few days working to get the players out of a bad mood after losing the Egyptian Super Cup on penalties to Al-Ahly, less than a month after Zamalek won the African Super Championship at Al-Ahly’s expense. A second title was on the brink.

Portuguese Jose Gomez held a session with the players before the start of the main training session held at the club’s stadium yesterday in preparation for the National Bank match.

At the start of the session, Gomez motivated the players in preparation for the start of the league journey.

Gomez added: “You have proven to everyone that you are a unique style of man and player and you have earned the respect of all your followers and the respect of your fans, who have admired your performance, fighting spirit and masculinity. The dramatic defeat in the Egyptian Super League, the crisis the team went through, and the numerical deficit in the ranks, but you were men.

Gomez concluded: “I ask you to keep fighting and make more efforts to please the fans and be strong for us to continue to achieve what the team has been missing for two seasons.”

The technical director explained the training program that will be implemented in training and Gomez was eager to give some instructions to the players ahead of the National Bank match.

Before the start of the training session, Gomez also had a session with Ahmed Fatuh and Omar Jaber Dhahiri Al-Abiad, in the presence of general coach Andre Pique and assistant coach Ahmed Magdi.

The technical director was keen to give the duo specific instructions related to their roles on the field and asked them to focus in light of the team’s engagement with important upcoming matches, be it league competitions or the African Confederation Cup.

The team players played a technical section during training and the technical staff were eager to apply some tactical sentences before engaging in a strong section in the middle of the field to implement what was taught in the technical section.

Gómez also dedicated a section to train players to take free kicks after training, and all team players took free kicks at goal under the supervision of members of the technical staff to improve the players’ shooting accuracy.

Zamalek are expected to play the match with a formation consisting of goalkeeper, Mohamed Awad, Omar Gaber, Hamza Mathluthi, Hossam Abdel Majid and Mahmoud Benteke in defence, and Mohamed Shehata, Abdullah Al in midfield. Said, and Nasser Maher, and in attack, Ahmed Mostafa Zizo, Saif Al-Jaziri and Michalak.

Al-Ahli Bank, on the other hand, enter the match looking to win after the reinforcements the team made during the last summer transfer window.

Ashraf Nasser, chairman of the board of directors of National Bank Club, was keen to meet the technical staff and players after the main training session to motivate them and ask them to put in their maximum effort before facing Zamalek. Achieving positive results worthy of the name and status of the National Bank Club, the technical staff and players will show their true colors this season.

The board of directors of the National Bank Club, led by Major General Ashraf Nasser, has succeeded in signing prominent players during the current summer transfer period, especially Mohamed Ibrahim and Ahmed Yasser Ryan, Ceramica team player, Hisham Salah. Al-Ittihad Alexandria team, and NP team goalkeeper Abdel Aziz Al-Baluti.

As part of the first round of the General League Championship, the match between Zamalek and Al-Ahli Bank is scheduled to take place at Al-Salam Stadium this Friday at 8pm.