‘Sundowns Defeat Helped Koller At Ahly’

Mamelodi Sundowns trouncing Al Ahly was the turning point of Marcel Koller’s journey with the Egyptian giants according to former coach Mohamed Youssef.

Koller and his Ahly side were thrashed 5-2 in the group stage by Sundowns and were on the brink of elimination but Sundowns holding Al Hilal to a draw in Sudan meant they were handed a lifeline and they have one hand of the CAF Champions League title.

The Egyptian giants eased past Raja Athletic Club and Esperance to book a place in the final against Wydad and they beat the champions 2-1 in Cairo for the first leg on Sunday evening ahead of their trip to Casablanca.

But the former Red Devils manager feels the Swiss coached shored up his defence and as he learnt how to navigate himself tactically in Africa’s elite club competition.

“Marcel Koller in his beginnings with Al Ahly was focused on the offensive aspect only. Al Ahly were scoring many goals until Sundowns’ match,” Youssef said, as per KingFut.

“The Sundowns match was a turning point in Koller’s journey with Al-Ahly, and any coach who plays against South African teams with an offensive style will lose.

“After the Sundowns match, Marcel Koller became very interested in the defensive aspect, and this had a positive impact on Al Ahly.”

Koller is on course for the quadruple with the Red Devils this season while they rejected the chance to feature in the FIFA Arab Cup due to the congested schedule this campaign.