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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 November 1999 Issue No. 456 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 November 1999 Issue No. 456
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt's Mazhar Abdel-Rahman tries to break free against Ghana
photo: Mohamed WassimGetting to know you
By Inas Mazhar
Although Anwar Salama was in charge when Egypt's national football team played two friendly matches this week, all eyes were instead on the man in the stands who would soon take his place.
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Gerard Gili, Egypt's new French coach, was simply an observer when Egypt lost to Ghana 2-1 and barely got by Namibia 1-0 in two home games played as part of preparations for January's African Nations Cup to be hosted jointly by Ghana and Nigeria.
Egypt's last outing was against Saudi Arabia in the Intercontinental Cup in Mexico in July. The Egyptians were hammered 5-1, resulting in the resignation of coach Mahmoud El-Gohari and the entire football federation. The team was then led by Salama but the federation, opting for a more experienced coach from overseas, selected Gili in late October. Salama, who will officially hand over the reins of power to Gili tomorrow, has been appointed as the Frenchman's assistant.
Gili, the first Frenchman to lead Egypt, told the Al-Ahram Weekly he preferred watching the games from afar in order to observe the players closer. "I was studying the players, their positions, their possession of the ball," Gili said. "From what I've seen I can say that there is definitely talent in these players, but there is a lot of work to do in the coming period. We have to work hard, especially on team play, techniques and tactics. This is the team's main weak points. They need to be technically trained to play as a team more than as individuals."
Indeed, Egypt lacked cohesion in both games last week despite a recall which included all European-based players, including Hani Ramzy of Germany's Kaiserslaughtern, the only Egyptian face Gili said he was familiar with. In Salama's attempt to show Gili every football player under the sun in Egypt, he substituted several players against Ghana and changed 10 players at the start of the second half against Namibia. The plethora of faces naturally failed to gel, even against a modest Namibian side in what should have been a one-sided affair.
"I think it was a good opportunity for the team," Salama said. "The games were very beneficial for us. Now we have seen all our players playing together. We have seen the weak points and we will be working on them in the future."
Press reports following Gili's hiring made much of his $35,000 monthly salary, plus what were termed as his "modest" credentials as a coach. A former goalkeeper, Gili guided Marseilles to the French league championship in 1988 and both the league and cup titles a year later. In 1993, he took over Montpellier, which ranked seventh that season, leading it to the cup final. In 1997, he was selected as one of three assistants to head coach Aime Jacquet, whose squad won the 1998 World Cup.
"After that I chose to train the Egyptian team, because it is a big name," Gili said through an interpreter. "They are the African champions and have a good reputation. I always like a challenge and to have an impact on the teams I train. Knowing that Egypt has not been in the World Cup since 1990 was a sufficient challenge," he said.
Gili made it clear he should not be blamed if Egypt fails to win the African Cup, stressing that his main target was qualifying for the World Cup and not defending the African Cup crown. "There is no time to prepare the team for Africa. We will do our best, but I can't promise to return with the cup. The officials know that and the fans should understand this very well."
Gili said he was all too aware of Egyptian ambitions to win the African Championship for a second time running and said training camps as well as more friendlies are to be expected starting this month. Still, he seemed hesitant to make predictions and considered the African tournament as only a springboard to the World Cup, which he insisted was a far better goal. "I think the Egyptians will be much happier when the team reaches the World Cup after all these years."
