Al Ahly is set to face Modern Future in the NBE Super Cup, the Egyptian Super Cup for champions. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. today, Thursday, at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium.
This marks the fifth encounter between Al Ahly and Modern Future, with the previous four engagements resulting in draws.
The historical matchups in the Egyptian Premier League witnessed two 1-1 draws and one goalless draw, while Al Ahly secured a decisive 4-0 victory during the tenure of Ricardo Sá Pinto as the head coach in the 2021-22 season.
The entanglement with draws against Modern Future has become a recurrent narrative for Al Ahly, evolving into an age-old challenge.
Modern Future has mastered the art of halting Al Ahly’s juggernaut, particularly when these draws follow periods of brilliance and trophy triumphs for the Red Devils.
In 2021, Al Ahly secured the African Super Cup against Raja Casablanca and faced Modern Future in their first match post the continental triumph, concluding the game with a 1-1 draw.
Another instance occurred in the previous season (22-23), where Al Ahly commenced with six consecutive wins, only to be halted by Modern Future in a 1-1 draw.
As the last season concluded, Al Ahly found themselves drawing once again with Modern Future, this time without any goals.
This draw followed three consecutive domestic victories after clinching the CAF Champions League title in Morocco.
Guardian of the Goal – Mahmoud Gennesh:
Modern Future’s goalkeeper, Mahmoud Gennesh, holds two championships achieved at the expense of Al Ahly during his time with Zamalek.
The victories came in the Egyptian Cup, where Zamalek triumphed over Al Ahly with a scoreline of 2-0 in the 2014-15 season.
Gennesh further secured the Egyptian Super Cup title with penalty shootouts in the 2016-17 season.
Gennesh has played eight matches against Al Ahly, conceding eight goals.
He has achieved victory three times, drawn three times, and suffered defeat on two occasions.
Gennesh’s remarkable feat includes maintaining a clean sheet in four matches, three of which were with Zamalek and only one with Modern Future.
The standout performance was the 4-0 victory, with goals from Afsha (2), Ali Maaloul, and Ahmed Abdelkader.
This result remains the highest goal tally conceded by Gennesh against Al Ahly.
The stage is set for a compelling battle as Al Ahly seeks to break the age-old deadlock and emerge victorious against Modern Future in the Egyptian Super Cup final.
