Gor Mahia are on ‘mission impossible’ against Al Ahly and their task will be made more difficult by the intimidating and hostile atmosphere at the 75,000-seater Cairo International Stadium.
Gor Mahia players will experience one of the most intimidating football atmospheres in the world when they face Al Ahly at the 75,000-seater Cairo International Stadium on Saturday.
K’Ogalo are in Egypt for the return leg of the CAF Champions League preliminary round and head into the match trailing 3-0, following their big first leg loss in Nairobi.
While it is not the first time for Gor Mahia to play at the revered stadium, it is for nearly all of the current crop of players, apart from long-serving Philemon Otieno and Ernest Wendo, who was part of the 2019 squad that faced Zamalek in the Confederation Cup group stages.
07:55 - 20.09.2024
Gor Mahia coach tells his players to use Al Ahly match to market themselves
Gor Mahia coach Leonardo Neiva wants his players to put up a great display against Al Ahly in Cairo so that they can market themselves to some of the continent’s big teams.
Gor’s Kenyan counterpart Kenya Police did not have to worry about the football-crazy Egyptian supporters as they faced Zamalek on Friday as fans were banned from the stadium but K’Ogalo have no such luck against Al Ahly.
The Kenyan champions are one of the most followed teams but what they will play in front of in Cairo is nothing close to what they are used to.
The Cairo International Stadium is both home to Al Ahly and Zamalek, Egypt’s most successful teams, and it is one of the most hostile places to play football in the world.
05:23 - 20.09.2024
'No barrier stops us from cancelling first leg result' - Gor Mahia coach defiant ahead of Al Ahly rematch in Cairo
Gor Mahia coach Leonardo Neiva believes Al Ahly pairing was unfair but trusts his chargesto dramatically overturn 3-0 first leg loss away in Cairo on Saturday.
Al Ahly fans are known to be some of the most passionate and craziest in football, creating atmospheres that are so intense that visiting teams find it hard to get a result.
The noise inside the stadium is on another level, flares, and 75,000 crazy supporters contesting every ball their players kick.
There is more, North African clubs like to host their continental rivals at night and that is when they employ the dark arts.
15:39 - 18.09.2024
'This tie is not over' - Al Ahly coach wary of Gor Mahia despite huge Champions League advantage
Al Ahly coach Marcel Koller is still cautious of Gor Mahia even after his team secured a massive 3-0 win in the CAF Champions League first leg.
With Saturday’s match scheduled for 7pm, both Nairobi and Cairo time, Gor Mahia players should not be surprised if they witness fans wielding laser torches and flares before and during the match.
And in the unlikely event that K’Ogalo pull off an upset, football-mad Egyptian fans are never afraid of throwing red-hot flares on the pitch during the match.