Players of Egyptian football club Ahly said sorry to their fans following their semi-final loss to Pachuca of Mexico on Saturday in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup.

Ahly had been aiming to reach the final against Real Madrid but the honour fell to Pachuca who played the European champions in the final yesterday after Al-Ahram Weekly went to press.

Ahly had lost to Pachuca on penalties 6-5 following a goalless draw in regular and extra time in Qatar, squandering two match-winning penalties.

Ahly had taken a 2-0 and 3-1 lead in the shootout but Mahmoud Kahraba had his shot saved while Omar Kamal missed the goal entirely.

Khaled Abdel-Fattah’s struck the crossbar, giving the Mexicans the win.

“I apologise to Ahly fans on behalf of myself and all the team players,” the 35-year-old Ahly goalkeeper and captain Mohamed Al-Shenawi said on TV late on Sunday. “Our supporters must know that we were totally shocked after losing the dream of reaching the final. Until now we can’t believe the loss.

“I am still shocked. We were very close, but you can’t control penalties and, finally, we weren’t lucky even though the players delivered their best on the pitch,” Al-Shenawi said.

Midfielder Mohamed Afsha shared similar sentiments. “I know that you are all upset and you have the right to be. Ahly were denied an opportunity to attain a well-deserved position,” Afsha said on his Instagram account on Sunday.

“I am very sorry. I hoped to win the game, but it wasn’t our day. We were close to winning in the game itself, but finally, penalties are a game of luck, and this is football.”

Ahly’s Swiss coach Marcel Koller blamed the loss on nerves. “We squandered numerous scoring opportunities during the game. In the penalty kicks, some players showed signs of anxiousness, which ultimately led to our defeat,” Koller told a television show after the game.

So Pachuca was to play Real Madrid on 18 December at Lusail Stadium while Ahly can only dream about what could have been.

The club started the tournament brightly after blanking Asian champions Al-Ain of the UAE 3-0 in October, claiming the African-Asian-Pacific Cup title thanks to goals from Palestinian striker Wessam Abu Ali and midfielders Emam Ashour and Afsha.

They had hoped to get even with Pachuca after their 2008 FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final defeat when the Mexican side overturned a 2-0 deficit at the half to win 4-2 in extra time.

Victory would also have allowed Ahly another shot at Real Madrid after losing to the Spanish greats 4-1 in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup semi-final in which the Cairo giants went on to finish third.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 19 December, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly