Coud be it be lucky 13 for Mamelodi Sundowns as they play in Egypt yet again, this time in Sunday’s second leg of the African Champions League final?
The South African team will hoping to keep up their recent form in the north African country to be crowned continental champions.
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Sundowns were held to a 1-1 home draw by Pyramids in Saturday’s first leg at Loftus Versfeld and will have to score in Sunday’s return (kick off 7pm, live on SuperSport) if they are to stand any chance of a second Champions League triumph.
Here is a look at the 12 previous matches that Sundowns have played on Egyptian soil:
Al Ahly 3 Sundowns 0 (December 21, 2001):
An extraordinary game in the second leg of the Champions League final after a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Loftus Versfeld. Sundowns dominated possession at the Cairo International Stadium and were by far the more attacking outfit but got picked off by the brilliance of home striker Khaled Bebo’s.
Sundowns conceded a penalty in the 37th minute, and Bebo added one more on the stroke of halftime and then a third in stoppage time at the end of the game.
Sundowns were given warm applause by the Ahly fans when the picked up their runners-up medals.
Al Ahly 2 Sundowns 0 (April 21, 2007):
Sundowns had the misfortune of drawing Al Ahly in the round before the knockout stage and did well, after going 0-2 down inside the first 55 minutes, to draw the first leg at Loftus Versfeld 2-2.
But in a two-legged tie that is a recipe for disaster, and it came as no surprise that Ahly won the second leg 2-0 to go through 4-2 on aggregate. B
But it did take them until the 68th minute at the Cairo International Stadium to score after Benson Mhlongo tripped Mohamed Barakat and Shady Mohamed tucked the resultant penalty.
Mohamed Aboutrika added one mote for good measure 10 minutes later.
Zamalek 1 Sundowns 2 (July 17, 2016):
A lucky break for Sundowns as they were eliminated in the early rounds of the Champions League but then restored to the competition, and straight into the group phase, after early round opponents AS Vita Club from the Democratic Republic of Congo were found to have used a defaulter.
Pitso Mosimane’s side needed no second invitation and won their opening two Group B matches before taking on Zamalek at the Petrosport Stadium in Cairo and winning 2-1 with goals from Tiyani Mabunda and Khama Billiat for their first triumph on Egyptian soil.
They went onto win their group and get to the final.
Zamalek 1 Sundowns 0 (October 23, 2016):
The two clubs met again in the 2016 Champions League final with Sundowns taking the first leg in Atteridgeville in emphatic fashion.
Despite the fact that only once in more than 50 years of competition had a club come back from a three goal deficit in a Champions League final, Zamalek took the game to Sundowns in the second leg in Alexandria, where Egypt’s draconian regulations on crowds had seem the government announce a limit of 20 000 spectators but 70 000 turned up nevertheless at the Borg El Arab Stadium to ensure a rollicking atmosphere.
Sundowns’ sturdy defence foiled relentless attacks and the threat of a counter goal was always on the cards until Stanley Ohawuchi finally netted for the Egyptians after 62 minutes.
That then signalled a siege of the Sundowns goal but time ran out for Zamalek and a disappointed crowd swiftly emptied the stadium, leaving the South Africans to celebrate with a small band of some 200 supporters.
Al Ahly 1 Sundowns 0 (April 13, 2019): This result did not matter, because Sundowns had handed Ahly a sobering footballing lesson in Atteridgeville the week before.
The 5-0 home win for Mosimane and his Brazilians in the Champions League quarterfinal was the heaviest defeat suffered in almost 80 years by the Cairo giants and is the reason why Mosimane went on to become coach of the Egyptian club.
Only the most ardent of Ahly fans believed their side could overturn the deficit at Alexandria’s Borg El Arab Stadium and Sundowns were never in any danger of a collapse that might offer Ahly a glimmer of home.
A consolation win was secured by a goal in the last 20 minutes from Walid Azaro.
Al Ahly 2 Sundowns 0 (29 February, 2020):
Sundowns had won their group ahead of Wydad Casablanca while Ahly were runners-up to Etoile Sahel and therefore had to host the first leg of the quarterfinal tie.
It was the last trip by a South African club before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and a harsh lesson at the Cairo International Stadium as fullback Ali Maaloul scored twice in the space of 12 minutes in the second half to hand Mosimane and his men a juddering jolt of realism.
The return leg at Atteridgeville was a 1-1 draw, with Ahly advancing 3-1 on aggregate to the semifinal, then postponed and only competed six months later with Mosimane by then having switched employers,.
Al Ahly 2 Sundowns 0 (15 May, 2021): A third year in a row that the two clubs drew each other in the last eight, with the Egyptians again having to play the first leg at home because they did not top their group, finishing runners-up to surprise package Simba.
No matter, as Ahly took it up a notch and handed Mosimane a win over his old employer at the Al Ahly Stadium.
Taher Mohamed and Salah Mohsen scored on either side of the break while Gift Motupa and Musa Lebusa both came close for The Brazilians.
A Denis Onyango error allowed Ahly to double the score and go on and advance again with a 3-1 aggregate triumph after a stalemate in the return match in Mzansi.
Al Merrikh 0 Sundowns 0 (19 February, 2022): The Sudanese giants were renovating their stadium in Omdurman and their great domestic rivals Al Hilal refused to allow them to use the other stadium on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum, so Al Merrikh took this Champions League group match to the Al Ahly Stadium in Cairo where the match ended goalless.
Al Ahly 0 Sundowns 1 (26 February, 2022): Straight after the Al Merrikh encounter, Sundowns stayed on in the Egyptian capital to take on Al Ahly at the Cairo International Stadium and saw Thapelo Morena grab an 85th-minute winner to end a run of five successive away defeats at a the hands of Ahly.
It was only the second ever win on Egyptian soil for Sundowns who went on to top Group A with a record haul of 16 points, winning five and drawing one of their group matches.
After that came an almost inevitable freeze and a shock quarterfinal exit at the hands of Angola’s Petro Atletico.
Al Ahly 2 Sundowns 2 (25 February, 2023): Yet again Sundowns and Al Ahly were paired in the same Champions League group and at the Al Ahly Stadium the pair put on a rollocking showing as they drew in what was the middle match of their six-game programme in Group B.
Peter Shalulile had Sundowns ahead not long after the half hour mark but he Cairo giants rallied in the second half before Morena scored a late equaliser, almost a year to the day after his winner when the two clubs met in the previous edition.
Pyramids 0 Sundowns 1 (19 December, 2023): Nine days after a goalless draw between the two clubs at Loftus Versfeld, Sundowns took on Pyramids again at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo and saw Tebeho Mokoena crack home after 17 minutes to win the Champions League group game with a rocket-like shot from well outside the penalty area.
Sundowns would go on and win the group and get as far as the semifinal where they came unstuck against Tunisia’s Esperance but Pyramids finished last in the group and did not advance to the knockout stages.
Al Ahly 1 Sundowns 1 (25 April, 2025): After successive semifinal setbacks, it was third time lucky for Sundowns who looked to be heading out of the Champions League when a fortuitous last-minute own goal from Yasser Ibrahim at the Cairo International Stadium handed the South Africans a place in the 2025 Champions League final as they edged Al Ahly on the away goals rule.