Ghana awaits Berekum Zamalek thriller
by Gary Al-Smith 05 July 2012, 12:37
Berekum Chelsea will be playing in the African Champions League this weekend with Zamalek in Accra, but the whole of Ghana will be watching. The country last had a rep at this stage of the competition six years ago and badly needs an image lift.
Ahead of the Saturday tie, both sides have named strong teams.
Berekum Chelsea
The blues will have two training sessions in the Brong Ahafo region today and then move to Accra, where the game will be played. Captain Abdul Basit is back after a monthlong injury problem, while coach Hans van der Pluym has the positive headache of five players, who have not been part of the team for some time, to choose from.
Bismark Idan has also been brought back into the fold for his competition bow. He returns from Turkey, where he had a tough time settling with Gotzepe. Emmanuel Clottey, the leading scorer in the competition this year returns after burying his mother, while the mercurial Solomon Asante and left-back Richard Kissi Boateng also return.
Chelsea are going into this game following a win in the President's Cup against Kotoko.
Team:
Goalkeepers: Ernest Sowah, Iddrisu Abubakar Danjuma
Defenders: Edward Kpodo, Prince Kwame Anokye, Richard Kisi Boateng, Ahmed Adams, Awudu Nafiu, Samuel Kyere, Alfred Arthur
Midfielders: Joseph Ato Bissah, Abdul-Basit Mohammed, Owusu Jackson, Jordan Opoku, Gladson Awako, Solomon Asante, Isaac Morgan, Ibrahim Issaka
Strikers: Musa Mohammed, Emmanuel Clottey, Bismark Idan
Zamalek
Hassan Shehata also has a crack set of 20 players heading to Ghana on Thursday. The team is laced with tons of experience and young blood, with Amr Zaki's known face partnering Ahmed Gaafar and foreign-import Abdoulaye Cissé.
Team:
Goalkeepers: Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed, Ahmed El-Shennawy, Mahmoud Abdel Rahim
Defenders: Hani Saied, Mahmoud Fathallah, Mohamed Abdel Shafi, Ahmed Samir, Omar Gaber, Sabry Raheel
Midfielders: Hazem Mohamed Emam, Islam Awad, Alexis Enam Mendomo, Ibrahim Salah, Mohamed Ibrahim, Nour El Sayed, Ahmed Tawfik, Saied Mohaned Otta
Strikers: Abdoulaye Cissé, Amr Zaki, Ahmed Gaafar
