CAIRO: Hazem Emam scored in the first-half to help Zamalek edge Burundi’s Vital’O 1-0 away from home and advance to the African Champions League round of 32 on Saturday.
The Zamalek skipper, who also scored in the first-leg, notched home what proved to be the winner in the 20th minute.
The Cairo giants progressed to the next round with a 5-1 aggregate victory as they thrashed Vital’O 4-1 at the Cairo International Stadium on Jan. 28.
Zamalek midfielder Moetazbellah Mohamed ‘Eno’, who is linked with a move to arch-rivals Ahly at the end of the season, was introduced in the second-half to become ineligible for Champions League participation with any other team.
The five-time African champions are likely to face Sudan’s Hilal, who crushed Zanzibar side AS Polisi 4-0 in the first-leg, in the competition’s round of 32.
Meanwhile, Abdul-Zaher Al-Saqqa’s negotiations with Zamalek collapsed due to financial disagreements, a source close to the player said on Saturday.
The source said that Zamalek offered the Konyaspor defender a three-year deal worth LE 700,000 in the first season, 800,000 in the second and 100,000 in the third.
However, the Egypt international turned down Zamalek’s offer and opted to delay talks until the end of the season.
On the other hand, sources close to the Cairo team claimed that the club are reluctant to acquire the services of Al-Saqqa, 31, because of his relatively old age.
Zamalek were reportedly keen on signing Al-Saqqa to reinforce their back line even more after landing Tunisian defender Wissem El-Abdi.
