“We felt as if we were in Egypt.” Those were the words of Al Ahly defender Rami Rabia following his side’s famous victory over Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021™ on Saturday.

It indeed felt like the Egyptian capital as a sea of red engulfed Al Nahyan Stadium, dwarfing the pocket of Mexican supporters who’d travelled across the planet to cheer on Monterrey.

Every time goalkeeper Aly Lotfy, deputising for injured captain Mohammed El Shenawy, made a save, the ground erupted as if the World Cup had just been decided. Every time Hussein El Shahat and company broke free but failed to find the target, a palpable sigh of relief ensued, quickly giving way to a collective ‘Elaab, ya Ahly’ (Play, Ahly) – a chant that would spur them on to the next attack.

“Al Ahly fans always give us a boost in difficult circumstances, even when we played in Japan, they were there behind us,” said Rabia, who captained Al Ahly on the night, referring to his maiden FIFA Club World Cup adventure back in 2012. A journey that ended with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of none other than Monterrey in the third-place play-off in Yokohama."

Rabia, then 20, had just broken into the first team, and an injury to veteran Hossam Ghaly meant he would start in defensive midfield in that loss to the Mexicans. A year on, he had cemented his place in the starting XI as Al Ahly returned to the FIFA Club World Cup and were again facing Monterrey, this time in the fifth-place decider.

More misery awaited Al Ahly in Morocco. The 5-1 defeat to Monterrey remains their heaviest in the competition. Nine years later, the wound was still fresh for Rabia, now deputy captain and a firm fan favourite at the club.

“Today we had a big advantage with the number of fans here,” he said. “Some of the players missed having fans at the stadium, so seeing numbers like this helped us a lot.

“I personally had a special motivation to win because I’d played against Monterrey twice – in Japan then Morocco – and lost both. So I really wanted to win this one to make amends and personally wanted to leave my mark on the game.”

Make amends he did, with Rabia’s exemplary performance earning him the Alibaba Cloud Match Award as Al Ahly vanquished their demons. Mohamed Hany’s half-volley minutes after the restart was enough to secure the win, sending Al Ahly into a semi-final with Palmeiras.

It was a win achieved against the odds in every sense, to the complete satisfaction of coach Pitso Mosimane, who once said Al Ahly had more fans than his native South Africa’s entire population.

“I got to know the real mentality and the spirit of Al Ahly when I came here,” said the three-time CAF Champions League winner. “With Al Ahly everything is possible.

“My main analyst, who dissects the teams we play against, was down with COVID and I was down with COVID too, but when the mentality is right and the tactics are right and the fans are behind us, it all adds up.

“We watched five Monterrey games to see how they play. I also watched their players for Mexico. People underestimate us, but we are thorough in our preparations, we are proper. We did our research, and everything came off exactly as we wanted. That is why football is a beautiful game.”