Al Ahly v Internacional

Al Ahly Cairo 1-2 Internacional

Brazil's Libertadores Cup winners Internacional squeezed by Egypt's African champions Al Ahly Cairo 2-1 at Tokyo's National Stadium tonight.

19-year-old substitute striker Luiz Adriano's first professional goal booked Internacional's place in the final of the Fifa Club World Championship in Yokohama on Sunday where they will face Europe's Champions League winners Barcelona from Spain or Mexico's Club America.

Youngster Pato Alexandre put Internacional ahead in the 23rd minute of the first half from a corner before Angolan striker Flavio equalized after the break in the 54th minute for Al Ahly.

Both sides hit the post in a lively encounter, before Luiz Adriano, on for room-mate Pato Alexandre, who was taken off with an ankle injury, sealed the match for Internacional.

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AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS - Talk like an Egyptian

As the tournament reaches its last days I felt it was time to reflect on life in Egypt and how much having the knowledge I have now, would have helped me when I first set foot here in Egypt.

Arriving in Cairo you are thrown at the mercy of the locals who will try out every scam they can think of in order to get you to part with your cash. They will give very little away as they realise the power they have over you, a stranger in a foreign land.

"Welcome to Egypt". A standard greeting given by any Egyptian looking for your money. Engaging in conversation will see them then ask you your name and where you are from. Don't be surprised if next time you pass the same area someone else calls out your name and says "Remember me?" the chances are the first person you spoke to has briefed the neighbourhood and now your personal details are no longer protected by the Data Protection Act.

By now I am no longer surprised that when someone wants to show me where I want to go that the route taken is by way of their families papyrus shop which sells quality hand painted pharaonic scenes.

The number of people using these lines, has led me to the conclusion that somewhere in Egypt there is an English language school where these lines are taught. Once they have learnt how to repeat these lines they seem to think that they will then be able to make their fortune out of unsuspecting tourists. As a result they leave the school without finishing the course. This results in a conversation where they repeat the lines they have learnt over and over, whilst you at first think that they may be able to help and may engage in conversation. Which you will soon realise is going nowhere.

Policemen and young children alike will give the game away as they shout, in your wake, "Hallo, money". Seeing you as a commodity that they want to get a piece of.

"Just wait 5 Egyptian minutes," the guides will tell you as they explain the attractions in front of you. They then add "5 Egyptian minutes is maybe 5 hours in your own country" If only I had known this when I first went to the Ministry of Youth that first morning.

"Get, to the ground early". This is no joke, throughout my stay here I will have spent over a day solely inside the Cairo International stadium. Turning up three hours before the kick off has become normal for any Egypt game.

"The price for this is..."Do not believe a word, every time there has been additional extras along the way. The Egyptians don't understand that we like to know how much things cost and that if agreed that is what we will pay. They think they can add on extras later and everyone will still be happy. Haggling is a way of life and exorbitant prices will be set in the hope that you are too weary to join in.

"Get a taxi" In response to any request for directions and asking where the local transport is, this is the answer they will give. Even the guide to this competition is misleading in giving distances to the stadiums. It states that in Ismailia the stadium is 13km away. In actual fact it is near the town centre and walking distance from the train station.

These scenarios are common around the world. However I do believe that Egypt is one place where these scams are practised from a young age, and that the majority of people leave school before finishing.

Being aware that this is how things work from the start meant that I had no problems dealing with life here in Cairo. I have the added bonus that now I can describe events depicted in the pharaonic reliefs. Haven't got round to working out the hieroglyphics yet as I am still trying to remember the arabic numbers.




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AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS - Around Egypt in 3 days.

The first round of matches have now been completed and I have followed the tournament as it has unfolded around the country.

Everything has fallen into place, sometimes more by luck than judgement, with a great deal of persistence thrown in. I opted to take the train out of Cairo to Alexandria, on Sunday and spent 10 minutes finding the correct place to buy my ticket. I approached what I understood to be the correct counter at Ramses station. After taking some time to get myself understood the clerk called a colleague over who instructed me to try the other side of the building. I left somewhat bemused and searched for this place. A member of the public came to my rescue and pointed me back to where I had come from! I made a beeline back to the same clerk who straight away produced the ticket I had asked for and even confirmed what I had asked for in English.

Taking the football out of Cairo has opened up the competition to other football hot beds in Egypt. In both Alexandria and Port Said the locals were out in force and provided competition for the visiting fans from other countries with their chants of Masr(Egypt).

The best support so far has come from the Guineans who entered the Alexandria Border Guard Stadium whilst the earlier game was still taking place. The terraces were already crowded but they poured in to the end behind one goal occupied by Tunisians. The Tunisians showed their disapproval by booing and waving the Guinea supporters away but led by a witch doctor and what looked like Babar the elephant, they continued to flood in packed this part of the stadium still further. They held their own and joined in the chaos that ensued with lots of chanting going on, once again, irrelevant to what was happening in the game. The local Egyptians being led by cheerleaders. Rent a crowd (from now on to be known as Guantanamo supporters due to their uniforms) cheering when ordered to. Finally the Tunisians who were delighted with what they saw after a shaky start and had some clinical finishing by Dos Santos to thank for the margin of their victory. The Zambians had by now disappeared back into the crowd and were not heard after they took an early lead.

Before the next match the Guinea supporters made their way to the other end of the stadium where their drums provided a lively background to a dull game. Whilst at the front of the stand a line up that any team would have been scared of danced away. After initially thinking that the South Africans should win this game I found myself hoping that the Guinea team would hold on, as their support had won me over. Even to the extent that I would rather we had the tournaments first goalless draw than South Africa score. This wasn't to be as the Guineans scored two late on for a memorable victory. On the way out a Minister from Guinea was seen being driven out and the crowd went wild, three of the supporters were on the front of the car as it tried to leave the stadium.

In Port Said, a town with a much more relaxed feel, the locals once again came out in force, although the majority of one end was left for the Guantanamo fans. The town used to enjoy a tax free status, but I was informed this was abolished in 2002. This act has affected the popularity of the President and during the second game whilst Senegal were struggling to break down Zimbabwe a poster of Hosni Mubarak himself was pointed out whilst a fan shouted 'we let Hosni in the stadium and the football is bad'.

Opted to take the coach back from Port Said to Cairo as the train would take four hours. The bus should take three. They didn't tell us that the time may vary according to the driver. As I watched from the front of the coach we went past all traffic, in either lane on the straight dual carriageway. Our drivers skills were such that on this same road he managed to negotiate a tricky chicane (which I couldn't see) whilst weaving in and out of two cars. The journey from Port Said to the Military stadium, which lies on the outskirts of Cairo had been done in two hours.

Now I have two days rest in Cairo before doing it all over again.

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AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS - Ire In Cairo

The tournament is now well underway and regarded as a success here in Egypt with deserved praise being given for the opening ceremony. However claims that Egypt is in the grip of football fever and that grounds are packed to capacity much to the delight of the organising committee, seem somewhat hollow in reality.

The Cairo International Stadium can be reached by taking the Metro to Kubri-el-Qubi, then cross the tracks and follow the flyover for a walk of around 20 minutes. I did this and still made it to the stadium before 4p.m. on the opening day and sure enough the majority of the crowd were already there.I spoke to someone who got in at 4.15, but haven't heard whether or not the gates were closed at any time. It was noticeable that the ground hardly filled up after this time as seats were left vacant for the participants of the opening ceremony. The Libyan section, whilst boasting a strong contingent of around 2,ooo had room for many more.

There have been arrangements made to fill the grounds in Egypt by the same organising committee that issued the above statement. The people doing this are instantly recognisable by the different colours, they are wearing. Just think of the seats in Portugal, but this time they are human beings, conducted from the front of the stand. At last nights DR Congo v Togo game there was a constant din, in front of what was a crowd of around 4,000 interested spectators and maybe 7 or 8,000 members of rent a crowd. Who were of course making lots of noise totally out of keeping with what was happening on the pitch.

Looking back on the last few days I was interested to read some comments in the Egyptian press. - Mido 'the terrible'. (I know he missed a penalty, was substituted and hadn't scored in the previous two Nations Cups, but I feel they were a bit harsh on him!)
Then there was the case of the Libyas Brazilian keeper, Agustini. Who showed his Latin temperament to get sent off. If only he had kept quiet they wouldn't have known he was Brazilian and he might have stayed on.

As for my tickets , and hence the ire. I returned to the Ministry of Youth expecting to walk in and walk out. It wasn't to be. The warning signs were there when I was immediately offered a cup of coffee. I was able to talk to other spectators and members of the media that I had also seen the previous day. So I wasn't the only one having problems. After three hours and one orange juice my remaining tickets, somewhat bedraggled were produced. By this time it was 1.15 and kick off for the Morocco v Ivory Coast was 2. Faced with no choice I had to give in and get the taxi there.

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