Three things that are certain in life. Death, taxes, Al Ahly showing up when it matters most. When it comes to the business end of the CAF Champions League, Egyptian giants Al Ahly will always be in and around the proceedings. One could even mistake the game as being scripted. They struggle to get out of the group stages, flirt with elimination, then in the Knockout phase they become a different animal. They dispatch off seasoned competitors with relative ease. This has been the same story in this season’s CAF Champions league, Al Ahly coach, former Swiss capped international midfielder Marcel Kohler, has quality in his ranks, top notch quality and he has managed to get the Al Ahly machine rolling . Once want away South African star Percy Tau is now their main man. This attributes to the top coaching by the Al Ahly technical team.In the first semifinal of the Total Energies CAF Champions League, 4 time winners of the tournament Esperance came up against 10 times African Champions Al Ahly. The two clashed behind closed doors at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi in Tunisia, with Al Ahly emerging victorious 3-0 courtesy of a brace from composed Percy Tau and a Mohammend Kahraba tap in from a lightening counter attack.In this piece we decode how Al Ahly approached the match from a tactical point of view, how Marcel Kohler who aired on the side of caution managed to get his side to score two goals from direct attacks. CAF: Percy shows no mercy! Al Ahly with one foot in the tournament’s showpieceAl Ahly set up in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation with Mohammed El Shenawi in goal. Mohammed Abdelmonem and Yasser Ibrahim was the centre back pairing as experienced duo of Mohammed Hany and Ali Malooul operated in the flanks. The double pivot consisted of Aliou Dieng and Marwan Attia with dangerous Hamdi Fathi playing as the creative spark between the lines. Hussein El Shahat and Percy Tau provided width as man in form Mohammed Kahraba led the line.##NAJAVA_MECA_7252372##Al Ahly looked to build up in a 1-2-4-4 structure with the centre backs splitting each side of the goalkeeper while the fullbacks advanced to start on the same line as the double pivots. The main plan for Al Ahly however was to sit in a 1-4-1-4-1 midblock, looking to attack Esperance in transitions and building their attacks through direct dribbling and progressive carries into the opposition half, they have the quality and discipline to do this.Al Ahly pressed in a 1-4-2-3-1 shape going man for man in the Esperance build up structure, stifling their build up.Al Ahly were on top in looking to thwart the Esperance progression through the centre of the pitch with Marwa Attia and Aliou Dieng holding the correct position to maintain the narrowness of their defensive structure, they looked to block the passing lanes as the wingers would look to put in a shift dropping wide to create double teams on the Esperance wide attackers.The Al Ahly movement in the centre of the pitch was exemplary with Marwan Attia looking to vacate the double pivot position, this action was aimed at dragging out one of the Esperance midfielders to create direct passing lane or space centrally for the an inverting Percy Tau, or direct ball into Mohammed Kahraba to spring an attack.In settled possession Al Ahly would look to create overloads on the left side with Ali Malooul and Hussein Al Shahat’s combination causing all sorts of problems for Esperance right back Ben Ali. Percy Tau provided the isolated 1v1 threat on the right side, creating dynamic superiority through his impeccable movement on receiving, he looked to receive the ball fast to feet and accelerate play, giving Esperance minimal time to double team him.This saw him get two goals in the game, the first one, granted a comedy of errors by the Esperance backline and goalkeeper, poor blindside awareness by Esperance leftback Amin Hamdi saw Tau sneak in, but the second was a class on how to remain composed by the South African star man. Poor finishing from Mohammed Kahraba would have also seen the Egyptian main man grab at least a brace from this game.Esperance however did look to pose serious questions on the Al Ahly front, especially from set pieces and early crosses. As Al Ahly looked to be very compact and narrow in their shape, protecting their goalpost at the edge of the box, with the midfielders staying narrow, this created the need for the wingers to track back a lot, any slight delay would see the creation of a chance by Esperance. The in swinging deliveries caused havoc in the Al Ahly backline. Something Marcel Kohler and his staff will look to sort. It was a tactical master class in how to soak in pressure from a deep block, how to get the right pivot balance in your progression phase and the importance of creating dynamic superiorities. The result sees Al Ahly in the front seat for the second leg in Egypt. Will Marcel Kohler bring it home for the African Club of the century? Doesn’t want to lose African players durng AFCON; Napoli president has a new idea
