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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 July 1999 Issue No. 436 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 July 1999 Issue No. 436
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Interview Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters The greener fields of Europe
By Eman Abdel-MoetiWhen star Ahli defender Mohamed Youssef moved to Turkish club Odenzeli earlier this month, team-mate Ahmed Kosheri couldn't resist signing on the dotted line himself. Following more than a year of negotiations, Kosheri and Swiss club Neuchatel Xamax finally came to terms last week. Ahli will receive $75,000 as an initial fee. An additional 25 per cent will go to Ahli if the player leaves Neuchatel for another European club. The 26-year-old Ahli spearhead will be paid around $9,000 a month. Although Kosheri declined to give the exact figure, he said he was satisfied with the pay and the fact that he will be given a car and an apartment. The news was broken at a press conference held in Cairo last week attended by Kosheri, Ahli Manager Thabet El-Batal and the Swiss club agent Kamel Abu-Ali.
Kosheri, whose contract with Ahli does not expire until next season, moved to Ahli four years ago from the Eastern Company Club for LE40,000. A star striker with the club during that period, his luck ran out when German coach Reiner Tsobil took over in mid-season last year. Tsobil benched Kosheri for most of the rest of the season, and allowed him to play in only nine matches this year. "Tsobil and I may have our differences, but we get along," Kosheri said. Perhaps, but Kosheri added that Tsobil was one of the main reasons he seriously started considering joining another club, preferably European.
At the press conference, Kosheri said he wanted to join the Egyptian national team more than anything else. "More important than being a professional player in a European club is to represent Egypt in international competitions," he said. Abu-Ali, owner of the Red Sea club, added a proviso to Kosheri's contract compelling the player either to return to Ahli or play for Red Sea when he returns to Egypt.
Neuchatel Xamax has had its share of Egyptian players. The twins, Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan, and Hani Ramzi, all from Ahli, played with the club at different times following the 1990 World Cup.
Waiting for his chance at fame and fortune in Turkey is another Ahli standout, midfielder Hisham Hanafi. Through the same agent who fixed internationals Ahmed Hassan, Medhat Abdel-Hadi and Nader El-Sayed with Turkish clubs, Hanafi took four video-tapes of his best games to Turkey last week and showed them to several clubs. He hit pay dirt when a club in Izmir agreed to pay Ahli $300,000 for his services.
Although Hanafi eagerly accepted the offer, El-Batal has been hesitant to let go of the national team player so easily. "We can't give away one of our most important midfielders for less than $600,000," he said. It is unlikely the Izmir club would agree to double the offer, especially since it explicitly said it cannot raise the bid to more than $450,000. Word has it that Ahli will probably agree to the amount for the sake of the player's career. Hanafi has three years left in his contract with Ahli.
Not counting Kosheri, there are currently 11 Egyptian players abroad. Four play in Germany, four in Turkey and one each in Holland, Austria and Switzerland.
