Finally in the finals

African defending champion Egypt, at last, qualified for the 2008 Nations Cup finals with a 1-0 win against Botswana in Cairo, concluding their labored campaign.
The Pharaohs played well and should have won by a much bigger margin, but wasted many opportunities in front of the goal. The goal was scored by Ismaili’s midfielder, Mohamed Fadl, who headed home in the 76th minute making a crowd of just over 7,000, who watched the match at the 80,000-seater Cairo International Stadium, release a great sigh of relief.
The sixteen qualifiers will be drawn into four groups of four in Accra. The tournament will run from 20 January to 10 February.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has leapfrogged over Cameroon to return to the top of the African football rankings according to Fifa’s world rankings for September. The Super Eagles moved up three places on the overall rankings from 26 to 23, while the Indomitable Lions fell nine slots from 16 to 25.
1. Nigeria
2. Cameroon
3. Ivory Coast
4. Guinea
5. Tunisia
6. Morocco
7. Senegal
8. Egypt
9. Ghana
10. Mali

Kaka elected FIFPro Player of the Year
AC Milan Brazilian midfielder Kaka was named World Player of the Year by his peers in the Federation International de Footballeurs Professionels (FIFPro) after leading the Italian team to their seventh European Champions League title last May.
Having won the Champions League cup, the Golden Boot with ten goals and the best player award, the 25-year-old Brazilian import made a brilliant record last season that earned him the prestigious award. Kaka clinched the title from his fellow countryman Ronaldinho who won it in the past two seasons.
“I feel humbled to receive such an honour. To follow my good friend and such a great player as Ronaldinho makes this a very special award for me,” he said upon receiving the award.
“To be recognized by my fellow professional players worldwide coming from over 50,000 players is amazing,” he added.
“My aim is to keep on listening and learning from others and to keep improving as a player and as a person, it is a privilege to be a professional footballer and it is our duty to work hard to be the best we can be for our team mates, supporters, club and country and to earn the respect of fellow men,” he pointed out.
The FIFPro have also announced the World’s best eleven for the season 2006/2007. Chelsea’s Ivorian striker Didier Drogba has been chosen as the best striker in the World.

FIFPro World’s Team:
Goalkeeper – Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus)
Defenders – Alessandro Nesta (Italy/AC Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy/Real Madrid), John Terry (England/Chelsea) and Carles Puyol (Spain/Barcelona)
Midfielders – Steven Gerrard (England/Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (England/Manchester United) and Kaka (Brazil/AC Milan).
Forwards – Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/Chelsea), and Ronaldhino (Brazil/Barcelona)

Abu Treika makes history in derby
In the 100th derby between Egypt’s powerhouses Ahli and Zamalek, Mohamed Abu Treika entered the history books after scoring the only goal in the encounter. Abu Treika equaled the all-time record of scoring in the derby matches, having scored his seventh goal in style.
The illustrious midfielder equaled the record score of Ahli’s Totou and Zamalek’s Alaa El-Hamouli. Hossam Hassan has the all-time record for total goals in the derby with nine goals. He scored five wearing the red shirt and four with the Whites.
Gamal Abdul-Hamid follows Hassan in this category, scoring six goals among his careers in Ahli and Zamalek, with four of them for the latter.
Ahli’s Khaled Ali “Bibo” is the highest scorer in one match as he notched four goals in the memorable 6-1 victory over Zamalek in 2002. Ahli’s Mohamed Amer is the only player who scored at both ends of the pitch as he scored an only goal before hitting the equalizer in the 1-1 draw during the 1981-1982 season.
Ahli won 35 matches and Zamalek emerged victorious 25 times while both teams drew 40 times. The 100 games witnessed 213 goals, 121 of them for the Reds and 92 goals scored by Zamalek.

Standings

 
Team
P
Home
Away
W
L
D
GF
GA
Pts
1
Al-Gaish
7
3
4
6
0
1
11
4
19
2
Ahli
7
3
4
5
0
2
11
6
17
3
Petrojet
7
4
3
5
1
1
13
6
16
4
Ismaili
6
4
2
3
1
2
13
7
11
5
Ghazl Mahalla
7
3
4
3
2
2
9
8
11
6
Aluminum
7
3
4
3
2
2
7
9
11
7
Zamalek
7
4
3
3
3
1
7
6
10
8
Arab Contractors
7
4
3
2
2
3
7
8
9
9
Telecom Egypt
7
4
3
3
4
0
7
9
9
10
Tersana
7
4
3
2
4
1
11
12
7
11
ENPPI
7
3
4
2
4
1
10
13
7
12
Masri
7
3
4
1
3
3
5
6
6
13
Baladeya
6
3
3
2
4
0
9
13
6
14
Harras Al Hodoud
7
4
3
0
3
4
6
9
4
15
Ittihad
7
3
4
0
3
4
6
11
4
16
Suez Cement
7
3
4
0
4
3
5
10
3

Germany wins FIFA Women’s World Cup

Thanks to their clinical 2-0 triumph over an in-form Brazil side, Germany successfully defended their FIFA Women’s World Cup title to enhance their reputation as powerhouses in the women’s game. In doing so, the ever-consistent Europeans became the first team ever to retain the trophy, although this was just one of many milestones achieved by the champions of China 2007.

This year’s showdown between Germany and Brazil was the first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup final to be contested between European and South American opponents. The European side, which entered the final match with the tournament’s best defensive record having conceded no goals in their five previous games, faced a free-scoring Brazilian side which had netted 17 times en route to the decider.

A closely fought battle between defensive consistency and attacking flair ultimately ended with a victory for the European defending champions. Birgit Prinz’s 52-minute strike dealt a tantalizing blow to the hopes of the Brazilians, who were subsequently forced onto the back foot. Just 12 minutes later the South Americans seemed to have found a way back into the game when they were gifted a penalty. However, 21-year-old Marta had her spot-kick saved and Simone Laudehr went on to score a second goal for the holders on 86 minutes, putting an end to Brazil’s hopes of a comeback.

Germany set a new tournament record by taking the world title without conceding a single goal in six matches, an achievement which owed much to the efficiency of a rearguard marshalled by Nadine Angerer. A succession of outstanding performances by the German stopper helped her break a record that had stood since the 1990 FIFA World Cup, when Italy’s Walter Zenga went 517 minutes without conceding a goal.

At the other end of the field, another record was being chalked up by Silver Ball winner Birgit Prinz. Having played a key role in her side’s 3-0 semi-final win over Norway, Germany’s top scorer became the first woman to appear in three finals. The three-time FIFA World Player of the Year previously led her team to victory in the concluding match of the 2003 edition having already seen her side lose to Norway in the 1995 final. With her consistent finishing and ability to score match winners at crucial times, the 29-year-old markswoman set a shining example to the many up-and-coming young stars that emerged during the tournament.

Fixtures & Results

Week 10
    Masri  

  Telecom Egypt    
  Venue: Port Said 10 Nov 17:00  
 
    Al-Gaish  

  Ismaili    
    Venue: Armed Forces 10 Nov 19:00  
 
    Suez Cement  

  Petrojet    
    Venue: Suez 8 Nov 14:30  
 
    Aluminum  

  Arab Contractors    
    Venue: Aluminum 8 Nov 17:00  
 
    Ghazl Mahalla  

  Tersana    
    Venue: Mahalla 7 Nov 17:00  
 
    ENPPI  

  Ittihad    
    Venue: Osman Ahmed Osman 7 Nov 17:00  
 
    Harras Al Hodoud  

  Zamalek    
    Venue: Hodoud 7 Nov 19:00  
 
    Ahli  

  Baladeya    

 

    Venue: Cairo Stadium Postponed  

 

Week 11
    Ittihad  

  Ahli    
    Venue: Alexandria 29 Nov 17:00  
 

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