Saturday (first leg)

APR vs Al Ahly

APR FC’s interim head coach Vincent Mashami believes his side is capable of eliminating the record 8-time African champions Al Ahly in Orange Caf Champions League.

APR host the Egyptian giants in the first round first leg on Saturday at Amahoro Stadium and the return leg will be played on the weekend of April 3-5 in Cairo. The Al Ahly delegation was expected to arrive in the country yesterday.

That APR will face the continent’s most successful club, a traditional powerhouse with a century rich of football history should make for a worrying thought but no!

"Al Ahly are a great team and have massive experience on the African continent but we can beat them. We can eliminate them, we have been preparing for this match because we know how hard it is going to be, we have watched their videos and we know their strength and weakness,” Mashami told Times Sport.

En-route to the first round, the Rwandan champions APR eliminated their Mozambican counterparts Liga Desportiva de Maputo with 2-1 goal aggregate last Saturday. The first leg in Maputo ended goalless.

The former Isonga FC coach added, "We have to give our best especially in first leg because we need a win and seriously APR has the potential to beat anyone. We have shown that in previous games, we need to do well in-front of our fans.”

Mashami has also called on supporters to join hands with the team which will help to get a win over the African giants.

It’s APR’s first meeting with Africa’s most successful football club, but Rwanda’s most successful club can take heart from their win over Zamalek in the same competition in 2004 at the same stage.

The Egyptian side won the first leg 3-1 but APR, under the guidance of the late Jean Marie Ntagwabira, turned tables on their more illustrious opponents with a stunning 4-1 victory at Amahoro stadium to go through 6-4 on goal aggregate.

Unmatched history

Al Ahly, as of 2014, have won 130 official trophies (106 domestic, 4 Arabian and 20 international), more than any other senior team in the world. On winning the 2014 CAF Super Cup, Al Ahly set a record in terms of international titles won.

Domestically, the club has won the Egyptian Premier League 37 times, the Egypt Cup 35 times and the Egyptian Super Cup 8 times.

In continental competitions, Al Ahly hold the record number of wins in the CAF Champions League 8 times, the defunct African Cup Winners’ Cup 4 times, the CAF Super Cup 6 times, and the CAF Confederation Cup 1 time respectively.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw