Return of the Duet: Al Ahly Rebuilds for a Masry Showdown

Squad Selections and Omitted Players

Al Ahly’s Danish head coach Jes Torup unveiled the match squad for Sunday’s game against Al Masry at the Military Stadium in Borg El Arab, but also confirmed the absence of nine players. The players left out include Mohamed Ali Ben Ramadan, Mostafa El-Ash, Hussein Shahat, Ahmed Reda, Mohamed Shreef, Ashraf Dari, Hamza Alaa, Ahmed Abdeen, and Imam Ashour.

Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shennawy, Mustafa Shoboer, Mohamed Seha.

Defence: Yassin Marʼei, Omar Kamal Abdul Wahab, Ahmed Ramadan Beckham, Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Shakry, Karim Fouad, Mohammed Hanni, Ahmed Nabil Koka.

Midfield: Marwan Attia, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, Ahmed Abd Qadir, Ashraf Ben Sharqi, Mohamed Magdi Afsha, Alyou Dieng, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Taher Mohamed Taher, Mohamed Abdul Rahman.

Attack: Nitesh Gradyashar.

Return of the Duo

The team departed for Alexandria on Saturday evening to enter a closed camp in preparation for Sunday’s clash with Masry. Ahmed Nabil Kouka and Marwan Attia are back after suspensions that kept them out of the previous match against Petrojet, which ended 1-1.

The club had its main training session yesterday at Mokhtar El Tetch Stadium after a 24-hour rest following the Petrojet draw. Torup held a lengthy team briefing, reviewing the errors from that game and highlighting the aspects that need tightening. In that match, Petrojet took an 11th-minute lead through Hamid Hamdan, while Al Ahly equalized via Gradyashar in the 61st minute. Despite creating chances, the late equalizer was not enough to tilt the result in their favor.

With the draw, Al Ahly sit on 22 points, while Petrojet moved to 15.

Emirates Trip and Super Cup Plans

Club officials confirmed a trip to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to prep for the Egyptian Super Cup, to be held from November 6–9. Al Ahly will start the tournament by facing Ceramica Cleopatra in the semifinals on November 6 at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, with Zamalek and Pyramids meeting the same day at the Unit Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The final is slated for November 9 at the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The team will fly to Dubai on Monday afternoon, then travel directly to Al Ain for their first training session at a secondary venue on Tuesday, followed by another session and a press conference on Wednesday with coach Torup and captain Mohamed El Shennawy.

Election News and Boardroom Moves

Meanwhile, the club’s election committee announced that Mahmoud El-Khatib will retain his post as club president for a third consecutive term (2025–2029). The full slate led by El-Khatib won four-year terms, including Yassin Mansour as deputy, engineer Khaled Mortagy as treasurer, and a series of senior and under-40 members including Tarek Kandil, Mohamed El-Gezawi, Mohamed El-Damaty, Mohamed El-Garhi, Ahmed Hossam Awad, and Sayed Abdulhafiz.

The board plans to convene soon to approve the appointment of a head of football operations, with Sayed Abdulhafiz reportedly stepping in to lead football oversight while remaining a board member. The club asserts these changes aim to sharpen the team’s strategy and future planning.

Punchline 1: If strategy meetings were bullets, Al Ahly’s plan would still need a bigger barrel to fit all the ideas in one shot.

Punchline 2: In football, as in real life, the best defense is a good joke—because if the fans aren’t laughing, at least the crossbars are very well-lubricated with aimless optimism.