15 - 21 March 2001
Issue No.525
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 15 - 21 March 2001 Issue No.525 |
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When theories abound
Following three games in which Egypt scraped just one solitary goal, the dam burst against Algeria. Egypt pummelled its North African rivals with five goals, keeping its hopes alive of reaching the 2002 World Cup. It also revived a forward line that had been taken for dead.
The 5-2 victory was messy at times, as evidenced by embarrassing mistakes committed by both sides. And while the result was clear-cut and unambiguous, it does not explain the sudden avalanche of goals. Did the strikers finally gel? Was the Algerian defence so decrepit? Was it pure luck? Or, paradoxically, did the drought end because Egypt's No 1 striker was not playing?
Even the most brilliant goals are scored because the opponent made a mistake. Your everyday goal is no exception and against Algeria the rule held up. While taking nothing away from the attacking skills of the Egyptians which was clearly evident, Algeria's porous backline and its shaky goalkeeper -- shell-shocked to the point of requesting to be substituted -- combined to open the floodgates.
While the meltdown of Algeria's defence could comfortably explain why Egypt broke out of its slump, fans and critics are already putting two and two together and coming up with an entirely different theory. They are certain the goalfest was the result of a younger, faster generation replacing ageing stars like Hossam Hassan. Hassan, they argue, is too slow of foot and at 35, too old to keep pace with and withstand the rigours of the modern-day game.
The goalfest puts Hassan, the world's most capped player, and coach Mahmoud El-Gohari in an awkward situation. He played in the first three qualifying games in which Egypt scored only one goal. In those matches, he scored nothing and did next to nothing. In the game he did not play, against Algeria, Egypt struck five times.
The official reason for his absence was an injury but Hassan recently announced he was retiring from international football after being made mincemeat in the press for a string of poor performances. Reports say Hassan has not taken a final decision on his international career and they add that El-Gohari would like nothing better than to have him back.
It will be interesting to see whether Hassan will play again for the team or whether El-Gohari will agree with others and concede that there is indeed a connection between Hassan's absence and the rash of goals.
The Egypt-Algeria clash reinforced one other long-held theory in football about relationships or the lack of them: there is no mandatory connection between scoring goals and playing well. Against Morocco two months ago, Egypt played classier football, yet drew. On Sunday, both Egypt and Algeria played something that had sometimes little rhyme or reason yet produced more than half a dozen goals.
Nobody in Egypt is complaining, however. If that's what it takes, bring on more less-than-perfect productions.
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