Egyptian giants Zamalek are facing a make-or-break semifinal second leg in the 2023/24 CAF Confederations Cup as they return to the famous Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi after 23 years.
The White Knights take on Ghanaian side Dreams FC on Sunday, looking to overturn a 0-0 first leg draw from last week’s home match in Cairo.
If Egyptian powerhouse Zamalek are to keep their CAF Confederations Cup dreams alive, they’ll first have to exorcise the demons that have haunted them at Kumasi’s iconic Baba Yara Sports Stadium over the past two decades.
It’s a ground that has brought Zamalek nothing but misery in recent memory, most notably a 2-0 defeat to Accra Hearts of Oak in the 2021 CAF Super Cup.
They came in as Champions of the previous CAF Cup Winners Cup, playing against their CAF Champions League winner counterpart.
But the Ghanaian giants made things sweeter even when playing home away from home, beating the Egyptian side in a game which looked like Zamalek were really not prepared for the task.
That 2021 loss marked the last time the 27-time Egyptian champions graced the field at the Baba Yara, home of some of their most painful continental setbacks.
Even before that the Egyptians had been annihilated by Kumasi Asante Kotoko by 5-1 on same venue 14 years earlier in the Quarter Finals of the then African Champions Cup, now known as the CAF Champions League.
Over 20 years later, the White Knights are desperate to rewrite their narrative at one of Africa’s most daunting away grounds. But earning a first-ever Confederations Cup final berth since 2019 will require them to overcome both Dreams FC and their own psychological hurdle in Kumasi.
Now making their debut in CAF club competition, Dreams FC will aim to take advantage of Zamalek’s struggles in Kumasi as the upstart underdogs look to reach their first ever Confederations Cup final.
Despite being the less experienced continental side, Dreams held firm in the goalless first leg in Cairo last Sunday to keep the tie finely balanced ahead of the return fixture in Ghana.
Holding a narrow advantage after a 0-0 first leg draw in Cairo last weekend, Dreams FC will look to feed off the fervent home support and continue their fairytale debut run in CAF competition.
The reigning Ghanaian FA Cup champions have already exceeded expectations, but now have a chance to reach their first-ever continental final. For the 27-time Egyptian champions Zamalek, they appeared to be crumbling at the seams earlier this season after a slow start led to the sacking of manager Carlos Osorio in November.
But his Portuguese replacement José Gomes has steadied the ship, guiding the White Knights to the verge of their first Confederations Cup final since their 2019 when they lost to Moroccan side Renaissance Berkane.
Winning this competition would help ease the pain of recent failures, including their shock elimination from the CAF Champions League by Libya’s Al-Ittihad and losing the Egyptian Premier League title to rivals Al Ahly on the final day this season.
For the dream to stay alive, however, Zamalek know they must first exorcise their ultimate demon – the menacing Baba Yara Stadium. Do that, and they’ll be just 90 minutes from ending their long drought in Africa’s secondary club competition.
But Kumasi has so often proved to be a graveyard for the White Knights’ continental ambitions. Besides performances of the playing body, the venue remains a stumbling block for the Egyptians, a phenomenon Dreams FC could count on.
Both teams will be leaving everything on the pitch in a few hours’ time as they fight for a place in this season’s CAF Confederations Cup final.
