Phathisani Moyo assesses the kings of African football’s chances ahead of the big tournament
Country: Egypt
Nickname: The Pharaohs
Head coach: Hassan Shehata
Captain: Ahmed Hassan
Star players: Mohammed Aboutrika, Amr Zaki, Mohammed Barakat, Mohammed Zidan, Amed ”Mido” Hossam, Mohammed Shawky, Essam El-Hadary
World Cup appearances: 1934 and 1990
Confederations Cup appearances: 1999
Africa Cup of Nations wins: 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006 and 2008
Home Stadium: Cairo International Stadium
Fifa Ranking: 37
Egypt are the undisputed Kings of African football and Africa could not have hoped for a more reliable representative for the continent at the Confederations Cup, which gets under way on June 14.
Whichever way you look at it, be it at national or club level, the Pharaohs have been the dominant force in the continent. The reigning African champions have won a record six Africa Cup of Nations, with the latest triumph coming last year in Ghana with a successful defence of the trophy they lifted at home in 2006.
Egypt have enjoyed many ”firsts” in the football history of Africa. They were the first African country to qualify for the World Cup when they made their debut in the 1934 finals in Italy. The continental champions won the inaugural Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) when it was launched in 1957. They followed that with being the first country to record back-to-back Afcon victories when they retained the trophy in 1959 and, even though the competition is far more intense now, Egypt did it again in 2006 and 2008. The feat spelt another first. No other African country boasts two back-to-back Afcon championships.
The Pharaohs have earned their respect in the continent. They have felled Africa’s most celebrated football-playing nations on their way to the record six championships. In the past two tournaments star-studded Ivory Coast were the first victims in the 2006 Afcon played at a packed Cairo International Stadium with 75 000 fans. Egypt were written off as underdogs against a team that had an array of European stars such as Didier Drogba, Kolo and Yaya Toure, Didier Zokora, Arouna Kone and Salmon Kalou. But they held out for a 0-0 draw to win 4-2 eventually after a penalty shootout. Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Henri Michel, who was at the helm of the Ivory Coast at the time, struggled to come to terms with how a team comprising mostly locally based players connived to pull the rug from under his feet and was shamelessly far from gracious in defeat.
”If you look at the overall tournament, we deserved to have won,” he told the BBC after the match. The Frenchman chose to overlook that Egypt’s Amr Zaki had what seemed to be a genuine goal disallowed in regulation time.
Michel and those who might have doubted the strength of the players plying their trade in the Egyptian league were put to rest last year in Ghana. The opposition were the indomitable Lions of Cameroon, but the script remained more or less the same. Egypt still had their local coach, Hassan Shehata, and relied heavily on boys from home.
Their opponents were intimidating. Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o led Cameroon’s foreign legion of captain Rigobert Song, Geremi Njitap, Stephane Mbia and Alexsandre Song and also had a highly respected foreign coach in German Otto Pfister
But the thriller still had the same ending. Egypt won, except this time the match did not go into the dreaded lottery. Egypt’s finest player in 2006 — and again in 2008 — repeated his heroics when he buried the winner in the 77th minute. Aboutrika had scored the winner against Ivory Coast in the nail-biting penalty shootout two years before. It’s no wonder that the Al Ahly attacking midfielder commands a big fan club at home. Described as the Zinedine Zidane of Africa because of his great ball artistry, Aboutrika is an exceptional player who has spurned several offers to play in Europe. Al Ahly coach Jose Manuel says: ”What other players can’t do, Aboutrika can do.” He was also instrumental in leading his club to a sixth African Champions League title last year. His heroics for club and country saw him being crowned 2008 CAF Footballer of the Year ahead of Eto’o, Drogba and Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
Much of the Pharaohs’ success can be attributed to their strong league, where players are paid enough to live comfortably. Egyptian clubs have won 12 Champions League titles between them, eight African Winners Cups and have been the Africa Super Cup champions six times. Aboutrika and Al Ahly even returned from Japan with the Fifa World Cup bronze medal in 2006. But, sadly, the medal has been the country’s only real success outside Africa. They lost 4-2 to Hungary in the 1934 finals and were again knocked out in the first round of the Italy 1990 finals and the 1999 Confederations Cup in Mexico.
The African champions will therefore arrive in South Africa set on improving this blemish on their proud record. It will not be easy. They are in the tough Group B that comprises world champions Italy, the evergreen Brazil and the United States.
Leading football commentator Mark Gleeson, who watched Egypt march to victory in 2006 and 2008 in the Africa Cup of Nations, believes the Arab nation are ”over the hill now”.
”They may not have been given the respect they deserved in past years but they are certainly not as strong as they were two years ago. I feel they will struggle in the tournament,” he told the Mail & Guardian.
Still, the Pharaohs appear to thrive beneath the weight of the underdog tag and past pundits have been left to eat humble pie.