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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 August 2000 Issue No. 495
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A choice and a chance
By Amira IbrahimIt began as an innocent move -- an attempt to bring two of the country's finest football players onto his team. What Zamalek's chairman didn't take into account, however, was the disgruntled reaction by the board members and teammates. Three weeks later, though, the duo appear to be buying peace of mind.
Last Sunday, the papers were signed -- two-year, LE1.2 million contracts with Zamalek for each twin -- and the duo of Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan trained for the first time in the famous white jersey. There were chants and there were songs -- the field was alive with excitement, and the Hassans finally received the welcome they felt they deserved.
"We did not mean to take revenge on Ahli by joining Zamalek," Hossam, Egypt's top scorer, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "Zamalek officials contacted us just like the Turkish officials did. We waited for a word from any board member or Ahli official telling us that they wanted us to stay, but they obviously felt we weren't worth it."
And so, they moved on -- with no regrets.
"Some board members sympathised with us, but those authorised to take the decisions did not," Hossam elaborated. "We were forced to move out of our home club, but we do not regret it."
No regrets, but there are serious questions.
Negotiating with players over renewing contracts -- in accordance with priorities and rules set by the club -- was once the responsibility of the football committee, including four members of the board. Two years ago, the diplomacy was cancelled, with authority being placed solely in the hands of club chairman, Saleh Selim -- who actually spends most of his year in Europe.
"It is such a serious matter that the football manager or the coach are the ones who negotiate and decide who is to stay and who is not," said Dr Hossam Badrawi, an active Ahli board member, expressing concern at the club's treatment of players.
"Hossam is Egypt's and Ahli's top scorer. He is the number one player on the national team and is still capable of playing two more seasons. He deserved to be treated with more respect," he continued. "I can't blame the twins for being proud of themselves, but on the other hand, I don't blame the ones who put the twins in a corner and forced them out of the club."
The highly-priced twins, Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan, in their first training session in the famous white jersey with the attendance of more than 20,000 Zamalek fans
photo: Mohamed Mosa'd
The price of being proud has been high for the Hassans and this deal marks their chance to defend their titles and prove their worth. Given Zamalek's history, though, the road will be tough.
In the past 10 years, Zamalek has clinched the league title twice while Ahli has held the championship for the past seven years. And since winning the Federation Cup in 1988, Zamalek managed to repeat the performance just once -- in 1999.
But that isn't the only obstacle in their way, for while the fans appear to have embraced the team's new blood, there is still the media and criticism.
One of the key issues Zamalek chairman, Kamal Darwish, is dealing with, is age. At 34, the twins are climbing the top of the football hill -- the large part of their playing careers behind them. And then, of course, there is the money issue; the twins refused to start training until their money was in the bank.
To Darwish, though, the decision is made.
"There is no place for loyalty talk in the world of professionalism," Darwish said. "Those players who do not welcome the twins should think twice and remember how they failed to achieve anything for the team and the club. Had they been useful, had they done their job as they should we would not have asked others to support them."
The deal of the twins is just one in a list of deals that Zamalek officials have made over the last few years. A considerable amount of money was paid to players in the past -- some of whom did not play at all.
"We contracted those players on recommendations of the coaching team members," Darwish explained. "The problem is whenever a new coach takes over he ignores the players we have and asks to contract others."
The bigger problem, though, is that over the last six years, the coaching team has changed twelve times -- the most recent change being in the middle of this season, when German coach Otto Pfister took over the team.
It is Pfister now, but what about next season or the one after, when someone new takes over? What, then, will be the fate of the high-priced twins?
"We are determined to keep the coaching team," Darwish stressed. "There would be no changes at all."
Coaching issues and criticism abound; football critics firmly believe that it all boils down to the twins and what they want to do -- their successes and stumbles, ultimately, are in their own hands.
"I believe the Hassans will receive better treatment from Zamalek than Ahli," said Alaa Sadeq, a sports critic and chief editor of Midan Al-Riyada, a weekly sports newspaper. "I also believe that the twins are capable, within three months of the new season, of gaining the true support of Zamalek fans, and thus, those players who do not welcome them at present will at least accept them within the team."
Sadeq implied that Zamalek officials would certainly work to help the twins succeed in the initial phase of the transfer. Success is essential not only for them, but also for Zamalek's current chairman for whom the twins' presence and performance has a direct influence on the outcome of the club's March board elections.
It is a situation with many twists, turns and catches, but it is one that critics believe the twins can surely get over. The test of their steel is about to begin, and the outcome, in reality, no one can tell. What is known for sure, though, is the Hassans records in history. If they choose to end their career in accordance to their past, then Zamalek's chairman will rejoice at his choice.
