2002 CAF Champions League Final

2002 CAF Champions League Final
Zamalek fans Celebrate after Abdelhamid's Goal
Event 2002 CAF Champions League
Date 13 December 2002
Venue Cairo Stadium, Cairo
CAF Man of the Match Hazem Emam (Zamalek)
Fans' Man of the Match Tamer Abdel Hamid (Zamalek)
Referee Al Shelmani (Libya)
Attendance 67,310
Weather Clear
17 °C (63 °F)
59% humidity
2001
2003

The 2002 CAF Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Friday, 13 December 2002 at 17:00 GMT (19:00 local time). The match was played at the Cairo Stadium, in Cairo, Egypt, to determine the winner of the 2002 CAF Champions League. The final was contested by Zamalek and Raja Casablanca, making it an all-Arabic club final for the fifth time in the history of the competition . The game was won by Zamalek 1–0 by Abdelhamid's Goal , after a 0–0 draw in Casablanca.

Contents

Background

Zamalek went into the Champions League final as champions of Egypt for the 11th time, and had lost just one Champions League game, the quarter-final second leg away to ASEC Mimosas. Raja also came first in their league. In the Moroccan League games between the two sides in the Champions League Final, They draw 0–0 at Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca, while Zamalek won 1–0 at Cairo Stadium in the return game on 13 December 2002.

Route to the final

Zamalek

In the first knockout round, Zamalek were won against APR FC, against whom they won the Home leg 6–0 while Hossam Hassan, Mohamed Abdel Wahed, Hazem Emam, Gamal Hamza and Mohamed Sabry scored the six goals. The Royal Club then drawn the second leg 0–0 to ensure a 6–0 aggregate win and a place in the second Round, where they were again won against Nkana.

The second Round matches represented the first time these two clubs had met in Africa . Zamalek went to Kitwe and secured a very creditable 2–0 win, before qualify to the Group stage of the Champions League, by drawing 0–0.

Zamalek were drawn in Group F along with ASEC Mimosas, Espérance and Costa do Sol. Zamalek won their first group game before securing a 1–1 draw away against Espérance, Zamalek as group winners and with the most number of points out of all the group winners, 13.

The semi-final pitted Zamalek against Mazembe; the teams had not met ever in the group stage of the Champions League tournament, the first time Zamalek won it. The first leg at the Stade de la Kenya was a drab affair, with Zamalek spending most of the game defending, whilst Mazembe tried to pass the ball around them. That was about as exciting as the first leg got for either team and it ended 1–1 thanks to a goal from Abdel Halim Ali. The second leg at Cairo Stadium was a game of higher tempo, which Zamalek won 2–0 and Hossam Hassan scored twice. This result increased Zamalek's consecutive home win record in the Champions League to 5 and ensured that Zamalek reached the final unbeaten except losing a match in the quarter-final second leg away against ASEC Mimosas .

Match details

2002-12-13
17:00 GMT
Raja Casablanca 0 – 1 Zamalek Cairo Stadium, Cairo
Attendance: 67,310
Referee: Al-Shelmani (Libya)
Abdessamad 15'
Jrindou 19'
Sami 58'
Kacemi 60'
(Report) Tamer Abdel Hamid  45+4'
Ibrahim Hassan 40'
Raja Casablanca
Zamalek
RAJA CASABLANCA:
GK 1 Mustapha Chadli
CB 4 Abdelouahad Abdessamad 15'
CB 8 Abdellatif Jrindrou 19'
CB 16 El Amin Erbate 80'
RM 24 Tajeddine Sami 58' 64'
CM 29 Zakaria Aboub
CM 27 Nabil Masloub
LM 23 Noureddine Kacemi 60'
CM 20 Hamid Nater
CF 9 François Endene
CF 11 Hicham Aboucherouane
Substitutes:
FW 30 Omar Zouit 80'
FW 5 Mohamed Ali Diallo 64'
Manager:
Walter Meeuws
ZAMALEK:
GK 16 Abdel Wahed Al Sayed
RB 2 Ibrahim Hassan 40'
CB 4 Mehdat Abdelhadi
CB 5 Besheer El-Tabei
CB 15 Wael El-Quabbani
LB 13 Tarek El-Sayed
CM 20 Tamer Abdel Hamid
CM 11 Mohamed Aboul Ela
CM 14 Hazem Emam 78' (c)
CF 10 Walid Salah Abdel Latif 82'
CF 9 Hossam Hassan
Substitutes:
FW 24 Abdel Halim Ali 82'
MF 22 Hossam Abdel Moniem 78'
Manager:
Carlos Alberto Cabral