Al Ahly set for Real showdown

Soccer-crazy Egyptian fans are in for a rare treat tonight when African Team of the Century Al Ahly meet World Team of the Century Real Madrid.

The historic match against the Spanish giants has been planned by the Egyptians to celebrate the new status bestowed on them earlier this year by the Confederation of African Football.

Thousands of Egyptian fans stormed the Cairo International Airport last night to catch a glimpse of Real superstars Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Raul Gonzales, Roberto Carlos and others as the squad led by president Florentino Perez and honorary president and soccer legend De Stefano arrived to a tumultuous welcome.

The Egyptian club coughed up $US 1.5m to stage the match, but former player Mahmoud El Khatib, now an official for the club, thinks the spending is justified.
He said: "The money may look quite hefty, but it is well worth it."

"This is a historical moment and we are sure we will recoup this money through a well-organised marketing strategy."

The Spanish giants' delegation will visit the Giza pyramids today before heading to the 100,000 capacity Cairo Stadium for the match.

This is Real's third visit to Egypt, after two previous trips in 1961, when they defeated Zamalek 4-1 and an Egyptian all-star side 7-1.

But things have changed dramatically since then and El Ahly are in no mood to concede defeat easily to their high-profile visitors.

El Khatib was optimistic and said: "We have to prove that we are worthy of the African Team of the Century by giving Real a very good game."