Besiktas Egyptian star Ahmed Hassan heaped to the defense of African champions Ahli who lost to Saudi giants Ittihad Jeddah 1-0 on Sunday in the FIFA Club World Championship.

The Egyptian international said he was astonished by the amount of criticism that Ahli faced after their hopes of clinching the title were demolished.

"Losing one match does not mean Ahli is that bad, I'm very surprised by the newspapers which said Ahli failed in their first real test! ," Hassan told Filgoal.com on Monday.

"The team who lost to Ittihad Jeddah is the same team who had an unbeaten record of 55 matches not only locally, but also on the African level," he added.

Hassan has been linked with a move to Cairo rivals Zamalek and Ahli next summer after he voiced his desire to return to Egypt.