Ahly official slams CAF over Mali strand, praises Jose's role

Members of Al Ahly team Ahly club board member Khaled El-Darandaly blasted the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for abandoning the club's football team who was trapped in Mali during the Military coup last week.
"Neither did CAF nor its Chief Issa Hayatou make a single call to check on us. I don't know where they have been," El-Darandaly said in a press conference after Ahly delegation arrived in Cairo on Friday morning.
The Egyptian giants played against Stade Malien last Sunday and were stuck in the West African country after a counter-coup took place on Monday night.
Earlier in the week, El-Darandaly blamed CAF for allowing the game to be played in Mali in the first place.
A few members of Nigerian football team Sunshine are still stranded in Mali after playing against Djoliba last week-end.
"I would like to thank our armed forces that rescued us. We had two armored vehicles and 11 commandos escorting us from the hotel to the military jet that brought us back home," he added.
Days of terror
Ahly's director of football Sayed Abdel-Hafiz also said on Friday that last week's incidents were the worst to happen in his life.
"We could hear gunshots very close to the hotel. We didn't want to alarm our relatives in Egypt but we were in real terror," he told the club's official website.
"The worst thing is that we didn't know how long it would last and if the situation would worsen," he added.
Jose impact
Meanwhile El-Darandaly hailed the strong presence of Coach Manuel Jose Da Silva and his role in the crisis.
"He refused to go to Portugal's embassy and insisted on staying with the team," El-Darandaly explained.
"He told the players to have faith that we will get out from here safely because we are not going to die here. He also kept trainings going as much as possible."
The Portuguese tactician decided to give the players a couple of days to rest before resuming trainings again.
"The players need a break after what they have been through. We must put that behind us now and prepare for the return leg," Jose was quoted in Ahly's official website as saying on Friday.
"We were better in the first match but we lost (1-0) now we should prepare to overturn the deficit and qualify for the group stage."
Ahly is expected to host Stade Malien next week but the game may be delayed to give both teams time to rest and prepare.