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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Living Features Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Wary of great expectations
Though confident in his team's ability to be a medal contender, Javier Garcia Cuesta is acutely aware of the great expectations that rest on his shoulders and the let-down which is sure to follow if Egypt does not win even bronze.
Javier Cuesta
"There is great pressure on my team," Cuesta, who has coached the national team since 1995, said in a recent interview. "The expectations are high throughout the country. Everybody wants Egypt to win a medal."
The 52-year-old Spaniard is no stranger to the rigours of championship tournaments. Considered one of the most experienced coaches in the world, Cuesta formerly coached the powerful Spanish team and had a spell with US clubs.
Since succeeding German Ulrich Viler, Cuesta has taken Egypt to sixth in the world standings. Under his tutelage, the country finished fourth in the eight-country World Cup in Sweden in January 1996. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Egypt ended up sixth, maintaining that ranking in the 1997 World Championships in Japan.
But Cuesta fell out of favour when Egypt failed to reach the final in the African Nations Cup in Johannesburg last November. Just days before the World Cup in Norway late March, he was unceremoniously ousted and replaced by Yugoslavia's Prinsilav Buckrajic.
But no sooner was Cuesta booted out than he returned. Buckrajic's style of coaching did not go down well with all the players. His delayed return from a short holiday because of the Yugoslav war also angered management. It was decided to give Cuesta one more chance. "It feels good to be back," said Cuesta then.
Cuesta and the players have vowed -- if they can't win the title outright -- to win a medal at the World Championships. For the past month, the team has followed a rigorous training schedule and has played several tune-up matches beginning with the Al-Ahram Championship which they won for the first time in the tournament's four-year history.
Egypt then tied twice with Denmark and won once in a three-match friendly in Cairo.
Cuesta says Egyptian fans will be a main factor at the championships. "Of course we are depending on the home advantage, which means primarily on the great enthusiasm of our spectators." Cuesta predicted around 25,000 -- a capacity crowd -- will show up during Egypt's matches, all of which will be played in the main hall of Cairo Stadium "They will support us with drums and Arabic music," Cuesta said. "I would love to see how European teams will react to this background noise, which will be rather unusual for them."
Some foreign players, especially the Europeans, claim that Egyptian players stand a better chance of performing well because they are used to the hot weather at this time of year, while some other participants are not. Cuesta disagrees. "I can't see any great advantages in that for us. The sports halls are fully air-conditioned."
