If Mamelodi Sundowns ever hoped for the perfect opportunity to meet Al Ahly and get past them, then their CAF Champions League semi-final has provided the best time to do that.
Sundowns have set a two-legged date this month against the Egyptians to decide who then goes to the final to fight for the winners’ cheque of USD4 million (approx. R78,5 million) against any of Orlando Pirates/MC Alger or Pyramids FC.
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While it is an undisputed fact that Ahly have mastered the art of winning this competition, Miguel Cardoso's troops will fancy their chances after moving to their third semi-finals in a row.
The Brazilians have played the Egyptian heavyweights in 16 matches.
They have won five, just like Ahly, with six ending in draws.
What then separates the two clubs is that the South African juggernaut have scored 20 against the 19 for The Red Devils.
Giving Sundowns the plus is that they are undefeated in the last seven meetings against the men from Cairo.
The first clash between the two clubs was in the 2001 CAF Champions League final.
Sundowns were held to a 1-1 draw at Loftus, before they were suffocated 3-0 in Cairo in front of a hostile crowd.
The next match would then be in the second round of the 2007 edition when the Tshwane giants drew 2-2 at home and then lost 2-0 away.
There was a 12-year wait for the next encounter between these two clubs, which was a quarterfinal (2018/19) won emphatically by Sundowns on a 5-0 scoreline in the first leg in Atteridgeville, before the Egyptians got a 1-0 victory at home on their way out.
From there on, the clashes have been frequent.
In the 2019/20 competition, they met in the quarterfinals – Al Ahly won 2-0 at home and then drew 1-1 in Pretoria to go through.
It was the same again the following year with the Egyptians repeating that 2-0 scoreline at home, before playing to a 1-1 draw in the away leg.
For the 2021/22 campaign, they were in the same group and Sundowns won both matches on 1-0 scorelines before coming stuck in the quarterfinals for the third season in a row.
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They again came up again in the group stage of 2022/23.
It was 2-2 in Cairo before the Chloorkop-based outfit won 5-2 at home.
The last two meetings were in the semi-finals of the African Football League in 2023 with Sundowns winning 1-0 at home, before playing a goalless draw away on their way to lifting the trophy.
