| Egyptian Clásico | |
|---|---|
| City or region | Cairo, Egypt |
| Teams involved | Ahly and Zamalek |
| Most wins | Ahly (54) |
The Cairo Derby, also known as the Egyptian Clásico or the Egyptian Derby, is a football match between Egyptian clubs Al-Ahly S.C. and Zamalek SC. It is a match between arguably the two most successful clubs in Egypt and Africa. Ahly and Zamalek were named by the Confederation of African Football "CAF" as The 1st and 2nd African Clubs of the 20th Century respectively. Both teams are located in Greater Cairo and their matches are considered the highlight of the football season with live broadcast to most of the Arab countries since the seventies. Usually the Derby is played twice each season with 2 matches in the Egyptian Premier League, but it is not uncommon to find the teams meeting each other in the Egypt Cup and in Africa's most prestigious club competition, the CAF Champions League.
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Ever since their creation, both clubs have been the top clubs in the Egyptian Premier League, the country's top-flight football league. Ahly won their first league title when the Egyptian Premier League was first created in the 1948-49 season and won 36 domestic titles after that. Zamalek managed to win the league 11 times and came second to Al-Ahly in the number of Egyptian Premier League titles won.
Their first ever match in the league ended in a 2-2 draw between the two clubs.[1]
Fans of both clubs can be violent when in anger. Numerous fights, injuries and deaths have been reported before matters became more controlled due to Egypt's authoritarian regime. Yet many fights and riots still occur after derby matches between both sets of fans, leading the government to post even higher numbers of Central Security Forces troops in the stadium during the derby. The number of fights have increased with the increasing popularity of the "ultras" movement.[2]
In 2008, World Soccer Magazine selected the Cairo Derby as the 8th most fierce derby in the world.
As of September 14, 2008, there had been 131 competitive meetings between the two teams. El Ahly won 55 times and El Zamalek won 33 times. The biggest win was for El Zamalek when they beaten Ahly 6-0 twice one in the famous Egyptian Cup 1944.
| Competition | Total | Al Ahly wins | Draws | El Zamalek wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 106 | 37 | 44 | 25 |
| Cup | 22 | 13 | 2 | 7 |
| Super Cup | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| African Champions League | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| African Super Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Friendlies | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 141 | 57 | 48 | 36 |
Top goalscorers
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Emad Motaeb | El Ahly | 10 |
| Mohamed Aboutraika* | El Ahly | 10 |
| Hossam Hassan* | El Ahly and El Zamalek | 9 |
| Alaa El Hamouly | El Zamalek | 8 |
| Saleh Selim | El Ahly | 8 |
| Toto | El Ahly | 8 |
Dubbed by FIFA as " One of the world's fiercest footballing rivalries".[3]
The derby has always been a breeding ground for Egyptian talents to raise their profile. These are players that have been household names for fans of both clubs and the Egyptian national team as both clubs are Egypt's main supplier of national team players.
*These Players have played for both El Ahly and El Zamalek.
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