Zamalek has done it before… The Royal Army is chasing the impossible.

Royals go into the second leg of the African Champions League final against Mamelodi Sundowns at the Prince Moulay Abdullah Sports Complex on Sunday night and will be required to achieve the rare feat of overturning their first-leg defeat.

Sun Downs scored a valuable goalless win over Royal Army in the first match in South Africa to put one foot on the road to the crown, taking advantage of morale and technical advantage ahead of the crucial match in Rabat in what is expected to be a fiery crowd.

Despite the difficulty of the task, history confirms that a comeback is not impossible, as only 11 clubs in the entire history of the tournament have managed to overcome a first-leg defeat in the final and win the title, according to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) published on its official website.

1966 – Abidjan Stadium Club

The Ivorian side lost the first leg 3-1 to Mali’s Real Bamako, but bounced back in the second leg in Abidjan to level the aggregate at 4-4 before Joseph Pelizzeri scored the decisive goal in the 117th minute of extra time to lift his side to the title.

1971 – Rule of Yaoundé

The final was then played in a three-leg format, after Ghana’s Asante Kotoko won the first leg 3-0 before Cameroon’s Canon Yaoundé responded by winning the second leg 2-0. Since the general rule of two games was not adopted during that period, a play-off match was held, which was decided by the Cameroon team with no goals scored.

1973 – Vita Club

Asante Kotoko won the first leg 4-2, but Congo’s Vita Club turned the tables in the second leg after winning 3-0 to win the title 5-4 on aggregate.

1976: Mouloudia Algeria

Mouloudiya Algeria suffered a heavy 3-0 first leg defeat against Guinean Hafia, but responded in kind in the second leg. In extra time, Omar Batrouni scored the decisive goal that sent the match to penalties, which smiled on the Algerian team with a score of 4-1.

1979 – Union Douala

Ghana’s Hearts of Oak won the first leg with an unanswered goal before Younon Douala equalized on aggregate through legendary goalkeeper Joseph-Antoine Bale’s 90th-minute goal, before the Cameroon side won 5-3 on penalties.

1988 – E.S. Setif

Algeria’s ES Setif made a strong comeback after losing the first leg 1-0 to Nigeria’s Iwanianwu National to win the second leg 4-0 to clinch the continental title.

1996 – Zamalek

The final between Zamalek and Shooting Stars witnessed much excitement after each team won 2-1 at home before going to penalties which the White Knight won 5-4 to clinch the championship.

1997 – Please

Morocco’s Rajah lost 1-0 to Obias Goldfields of Ghana in the first leg, but won the second leg by the same scoreline before winning the title 5-4 on penalties.

2004 – Enyimba

The two teams traded 2-1 victories at home, with the final going down to a penalty shoot-out with Enyimba winning 5-3 to win the title for the second consecutive season.

2009: T.P. Mazembe

Nigeria’s “Heartland” won the first match 2-1, but Congo’s T.P. Mazembe took advantage of the away goals rule after Tresor Mbutu scored a crucial goal, as well as an own goal in the second leg, to clinch the continental title.

2018 – Esperance

Egypt’s Al-Ahly won the first leg 3-1 in Alexandria, but Tunisia’s Esperance responded strongly in Rades after winning 3-0 thanks to a brace from Saad Bekir and a goal from Anis El Badri to reverse the result and win the league 4-3 on aggregate.