Soccer-Pyramids hope for ‘miracle' of support in African CL final

The Star

a day ago

FILE PHOTO: A horse cart drives with tourists in front of the Great Pyramids in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File photo
CAIRO (Reuters) -Egypt's Pyramids hope to rally local support for Sunday's African Champions League final as they face the possibility of hosting the second leg in a near-empty stadium in Cairo against South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns.
Coach Krunoslav Jurcic said it would be a "miracle" if his side could attract support from a city whose citizens overwhelmingly back one of the two traditional Cairo giants -- Al Ahly or Zamalek.
Pyramids have emerged from their shadow to contest a first Champions League final and battled to a 1-1 draw away in Pretoria in the first leg.
"We are expecting tomorrow a lot of people in the stadium. This will be a miracle," Jurcic told a press conference on Saturday at the June 30 Stadium on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital.
"Lately, a lot of people have been speaking positively about Pyramids. They are supporters of other clubs in Egypt, but they will come to watch because Pyramids is an Egyptian club.
"Tomorrow, all of Egypt will be with Pyramids, and this is our big success, this is the miracle for us," the Croatian coach said.
They had only a few thousand in the stands when they triumphed in a high-tempo semi-final against another South Africa club Orlando Pirates last month.
Pyramidsmoved to Cairo in 2018 and changed their name under new Saudi owners. They have since been taken over by investors from the United Arab Emirates but failed to attract much support despite challenging the traditional duopoly in recent years.
But Jurcic made it clear they were still treated as outsiders as he again criticised Egypt's football association, which made them play a league game on Wednesday.
"Where else in the world is a club forced to play a local match a few days before they compete in a Champions League final?," he said.
Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso, however, said he did not think it would have any effect on Pyramids' chances in the final.
"They rested most of their key players on Wednesday," he said of Pyramids' 5-1 win over Ceramica Cleopatra in their last league fixture of the season.
Cardoso also did not think a small crowd would hinder their hosts.
"They are used to playing without fans and they still fight for their championship and got to the Champions League final. It's not because of that that they didn't perform," Cardoso added.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)