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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 May 2000 Issue No. 481 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 May 2000 Issue No. 481
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Books Features Interview Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The genie was kind
On the eve of Africa's final round draw for the 2002 World Cup, Mahmoud El-Gohari, Egypt's national team coach, took out his magic lamp, rubbed it a few times and wished Egypt would face strong competition in the qualifying group to show how good the country really is. The genie was more than obliging. The next day, Egypt found itself pitted against Morocco, Algeria, Senegal and Namibia, by all accounts the most formidable of the five groups. Morocco and Algeria have gone to the World Cup before, Senegal is on the up and up and Namibia could be the giant killer.In the middle stands Egypt, which will try to qualify for the World Cup for the third time. The first entry was in 1934, the second more than 55 years later, in 1990, under El-Gohari's watch.
Most experts agree that Morocco, a four-time visitor to the World Cup, poses the most serious threat to Egypt's chances. In 20 official matches between the two North African rivals, Egypt has won exactly two, a 3-2 victory in 1971 and 1-0 15 years later, in 1986. Morocco won 12 encounters while six matches ended in a draw.
History is certainly on Morocco's side but El-Gohari apparently was never interested in history books. Although he expressed deep concern immediately after the draw was announced, he said success depended on totally rejecting any suggestion about North African supremacy over Egypt. "History for me means nothing," El-Gohari said. "We have to unify our efforts to make our dream come true."
Others share El-Gohari's views. "I do not believe in the so-called Moroccan complex," said Abdel-Aziz Abdel-Shafi, former coach of the Olympic team which failed to qualify for the Sydney Olympics after being knocked out by -- who else? -- Morocco. "The group is difficult, true," Abdel-Shafi told the Weekly. "But we have a good chance to reach the finals." He said he thought Morocco was Egypt's toughest opponent. "Morocco has one of the strongest teams in Africa regardless of their poor performance in the African Cup of Nations," he added, referring to Morocco's early ouster from the championship.
Essam Abdel-Moneim, a member of the Egyptian Olympic Committee and sports critic, cautioned that while too much attention is being paid to Morocco, Algeria and Senegal should not be overlooked. "Algeria does not lack either the ambition or the skills to qualify for the World Cup," Abdel-Moneim said, adding that despite Algeria's poor results in the last decade, "its matches against us are always unpredictable." In all their encounters, Egypt has beaten Algeria three times while Algeria has won five. Five ended in a tie.
Otto Pfister, Zamalek's German coach, who has trained several African teams, is not perturbed by Morocco or Algeria at all, insisting the real threat is -- surprise, surprise -- Senegal. "Senegal has a very strong team and that was very clear in the African Cup of Nations," Pfister told the Weekly, pointing to how close the Senegalese were to beating hosts Nigeria in the quarter-finals. However, Egyptian dominance over Senegal is clear, having won three matches and losing only once, in 1986.
Pfister claimed Egypt's chances of qualifying for the World Cup have never been so good. He said Egypt was the strongest candidate to book the lone qualification ticket, basing his premise on the fact that many of its players play abroad on European teams and are still relatively young.
Nobody is giving Namibia much hope, although it may yet prove to be the spoiler. "You may expect a surprise from them for they could affect the fortunes of other opponents," Abdel-Shafi said.
El-Gohari's major complaint was not history or North African complexes, but the schedule which sees Egypt not playing in the first round and due to kick-off against Senegal away from home in July. "What also concerns me is that we will play our last match against Algeria away from home."
But history might in the end be on Egypt's side. It was a 1-0 win against Algeria that propelled Egypt to the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
