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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 July 1999 Issue No. 437 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 July 1999 Issue No. 437
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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 Focus Books Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Battle of the continents
By Nashwa Abdel-Tawab
National team's coach El-Gohary surprisingly won the African Nations Cup last year. Will he pull another surprise at the Confederations Cup?
Egypt's national football team takes on a new challenge when it plays in the Confederations Cup later this month for the first time. With the high quality of the teams taking part, Brazil and Germany being cases in point, Egypt's chances of victory appear slim although coach Mahmoud El-Gohari insists he has set his sights on the trophy. Making the tournament even more important is that apart from the Copa America, there is no other continental championship taking place in 1999.
The FIFA/Confederations Cup, the most recent addition to FIFA's list of tournaments, will take place in Mexico from 24 July to 4 August. Eight teams will compete over the fourth title of this newborn continental competition. The cup was first designated a FIFA competition in December 1997, when it was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Two earlier tournaments in Riyadh in 1992 and 1995 were called the Inter-Continental Championship. The tournament is the brainchild of Prince Faisal bin Fahd, president of the Saudi Football Federation, who suggested a major continental competition where six national teams, mainly continental champions, with the host country and the World Cup champion can compete in a smaller version of the World Cup. Prize money has reached an outstanding $14 million; $750,000 for every qualifying team. The winner pockets a cool $1,700,000.
In 1997 it was decided that an automatic invitation be offered to the title-holder and not to the World Cup winners. But an interesting line-up has been guaranteed anyway. Brazil, the winners of the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and the defending Confederations Cup champions, will be there, as will four reigning continental champions: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, New Zealand and Germany. Bolivia and the US are the runner-ups after Brazil and Mexico in their confederation championship. Mexico automatically qualifies as the host nation. Brazil, Germany, the US and New Zealand are in group one while Mexico, Egypt, Bolivia and Saudi Arabia make up group 2, a group El-Gohari believes is far less tough than the first.
El-Gohari -- the only man to have won the African Nations Cup as both a player and a coach -- is in his third spell at the helm, having also led Egypt to the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Consistency is the key to his policy and it has paid some dividends, illustrated by recent wins over the likes of Belgium and Bulgaria this year. However, since winning the African Nations Cup last year, the team has played unsteady football in 14 international friendly matches, winning two, losing four and drawing eight. Twelve of those matches have been played outside Egypt to get the players used to playing without their normally rabid fans. "With the home field advantage, the host country (who have a long standing unbeaten record in the Aztec stadium where they will play), will be difficult opponents for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bolivia," El-Gohari said. "Throughout our preparations, I have tried to train my team to play without the support of their fans but who knows how the team will perform there [in Mexico]," he added.
If there is a weakness in the Egyptian make-up, it is mainly the lack of physical fitness, a lack of self-confidence and a temperament that tends to deteriorate when the chips are down. Then there is the matter up front -- a replacement for star striker Hossam Hassan, who fractured his leg in a friendly against Croatia two weeks ago, has been hard to find. Zamalek forward Abdel-Hamid Bassiouni was called up to take on the responsibility but two lacklustre matches have made his recruitment questionable. In truth, Bassiouni's task is daunting. He is being asked to fill the shoes of Hassan, a pillar of the national team for 12 years, in the event he is unable to play. Hassan's scoring record with the national side has been prolific and despite his advancing years he remains the most dangerous player Egypt has inside the penalty area. Still, the much-maligned Bassiouni, who rose to prominence when he won the league scoring title two years ago, remains undaunted, having vowed to do his best in the competition and not let the Egyptian fans down. "No one can blame me for not having a replacement for Hassan," El-Gohari said. "This is the responsibility of the clubs and the supposedly-strong league and cup competitions. This is not a good time to start training players. I should have ready-made players to choose from and not inexperienced ones. Let's hope Bassiouni does well."
Others are hoping El-Gohari does away with his defensive tactics, a style of play he has used for years. The question is whether this format will again dominate in Mexico. "I play defensively because the players tend to be frightened of their opponents and so they defend their net more than they attack. They lack self-confidence," El-Gohari said.
El-Gohari is optimistic about the national team's future. "Having professional players strengthens the team," said El-Gohari, who has assured us that by the end of 2000 the national Olympic side, composed of mainly up-and-coming youngsters, will join the national squad, many of whose players now play abroad. While it was not long ago that Egyptian players could only dream of venturing beyond their borders to ply their trade in other leagues, Egypt now has players in Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands who can be called up. Schemer Hani Ramzi is one of four players now competing in the Bundesliga in Germany. Cool and calculating, the veteran defender tasted European glory with Werder Bremen and is now playing for Kaiserslautern. He is one of the few surviving members of the squad that went to the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
Another player on the books of a German club and a secret weapon in El-Gohari's armoury is Yasser Radwan, a speedy fullback with a propensity for pushing forward. Radwan has had a sensational season with high-riding Hasna Rostock and is certain to keep opposing defenders busy throughout the 90 minutes.
The team flew last Monday to Mexico following a brief pep talk given to them by Kamal El-Ganzouri, the prime minister and chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports. The team will arrive 19 days before the cup kicks off. Their final preparations will include two games against New Zealand, on 10 and 15 July and one against the US on 20 July. "These matches are important because they will be played in the same place where the tournament will be played," El-Gohari said. The players must also get acclimatised to the high altitude of Mexico and its oxygen-thin atmosphere. "I want them to get used to the weather and to treat any breathing problems since Mexico is about 4,000 metres above sea level," said El-Gohari, who has taken FIFA's permission to give the players Creatine, a body-building substance used widely these days by athletes. Creatine stimulates the hemoglobin in the blood which is affected by the shortage of oxygen.
The Confederations Cup will offer a unique opportunity for coaches like El-Gohari to test new ideas and players in a series of games against top-level opposition. It promises varied and interesting matches, with many of the world's established stars on view and others trying to break into that elite group.
