Zamalek aim to silence Hearts in Super Cup showdown

Confident Egyptian club Zamalek will attempt to put aside Ghana's Hearts of Oak's claim to being the best team on the continent when the two meet in the African Super Cup in Kumasi on Sunday.

Zamalek go into the match in the Ghanaian provincial city with a comfortable lead in their domestic league and a run of form that matches their successful march to the African Cup Winners' Cup title last year.

Hearts have not been in action since their controversial win over Esperance of Tunisia in the second leg of the Champions League final last December and are expected to introduce several new signings in Sunday's game as both teams prepare for the World Club Championships in Spain later this year. Ghana's champions have been ordered by the Confederation of African Football to move the match away from their Accra stadium because of the crowd rioting that interrupted their 3-1 win over Esperance.

Zamalek warmed up for the Super Cup match with a 2-0 league win away at Sekkit Hadded Souhag on Wednesday, wich increased their points tally to 45 in the championship and kept them comfortably ahead of arch-rivals Al Ahli in the title race. Zamalek, coached by the German Otto Pfister, are well on course to end Ahli's run of seven successive titles.

CHANCE
Sunday also presents Zamalek with a chance to win a third Super Cup and earn the right to keep the trophy. They were winners in 1994, overcoming Ahli 1-0 in Johannesburg and again two years later when they beat another Egyptian club, Arab Contractors, in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in Cairo.

It is the first appearance in the annual Super Cup for Hearts, who were a surprise package in last year's Champions League but emerged as worthy winners.

Coach Jones Attaquayefio this week welcomed back striker Ishmael Addo, who had been in Turkey seeking a professional contract, and said he would likely play new signings Stephen Owusu, Kwame Antwi and George Eranio.

Hearts have also recently signed teenager Bernard Don Bortey, who played for Ghana's under-17 team under Attaquayefio at the world championships in New Zealand in 1999. Zamalek will also be allowed to play the Hassan twins in the match after the two veteran internationals were cup tied in the Cup Winners' Cup last year following their emotive mid-year move from Al Ahli.

Forward Hossam Hassan recently broke the world record for international caps while his brother Ibrahim, a fullback, scored one of the two goals in Wednesday night's league match.