Egyptian giants Al Ahly capped off their stunning year in football as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat from Mexican outfit and current CONCACAF Champions League winners C.F Monterrey in their final game of the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup to finish in a respectable fourth place.
A week of beautiful football, broken records, heartbreaking injuries and more. A one week journey that finished off a remarkable year, full of incidents for the Egyptian side. From bypassing hosts Hiroshima, putting in a superb performance against current World Champions Corinthians and succumbing to a humbling defeat to CONCACAF Champions C.F. Monterrey, let’s recap how it all happened…
Qualifying Round: Al Ahly [Egypt] 2-1 Hiroshima Sanfrecce [Japan]
Al Ahly kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 victory against the Japanese champions with goals courtesy of El Sayed Hamdy and Abou-Treika, making the latter the tournament’s joint all-time leading goalscorer with Denilson and Messi. Hisato Sato scored for the Japanese outfit.
Semi-Final: Al Ahly [Egypt] 0-1 Corinthians [Brazil]
The Brazilian Copa Libertadores champions managed a narrow 1-0 victory over Egyptian CAF Champions League winners Al Ahly to secure their place in the FIFA Club World Cup final after Pablo Guerrero’s well taken header. An inspiring second half performance by Al Ahly following the introduction of Mohamed Abou-Treika wasn’t enough to stop the Brazilians.
Third Place: Al Ahly [Egypt] 0-2 C.F. Monterrey [Mexico]
Al Ahly finished in fourth place after a 2-0 defeat, with goals from Corona and Delgado securing the third place spot for the Mexican champions. Despite Al Ahly being the more dangerous side with 17 attempts on goal to Monterrey’s 6, defensive blunders leave their efforts in vein.
