31 May - 6 June 2001
Issue No.536
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 May - 6 June 2001 Issue No.536 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Reporting for duty
The military football team is shooting for a third straight World Cup title to add to its war chest. Amira Ibrahim reviews battle preparations
Twice world champion Egypt prepares for virtual war games at the World Military Football Cup scheduled to take place in Cairo from 20 June to 7 July. Hosting the championship should boost the country's chances of repeating its 1993 and 1999 triumphs despite the sudden cancellation of a scheduled 14-day trip to Romania for training. "The players were busy with their teams in African competitions while others were already training with the national team," Maj Gen Abdel-Gaber Ali, general supervisor of military sports teams, said. Ali added the team will train instead in Alexandria and Ismailia before returning to Cairo.
The draw places the Pharaohs in Group A, together with Guinea, Cyprus and North Korea. Group B includes Greece, Burkina Faso, Qatar and the US. Germany, Côte d'Ivoire, Syria and Ukraine will compete in Group C.
The hosts will play Guinea in the opening game on 20 June at the Military Academy stadium. Head coach and former Ittihad star Mohamed Omar appeared optimistic about the draw, expressing confidence that the team can make it to the final. "The home advantage will serve us well. Our team is the title holder and this is an additional advantage when confronting other teams."
Former coach Medhat Faquosa told the Weekly that the preliminary round was relatively easy with no strong challenger in sight. "The chances are good that we will not only qualify for the second round but make history by winning the cup for the third time." But, he added, working for the same goal is the Greek team which has also won the cup twice.
In 1993 in Morocco, Faquosa led the team to the championship for the first time, beating the hosts in the final.
Head of the Military Sports Body Maj Gen Mustafa Kamel Fahmi said the squad is being prepared differently, in a way similar to that of the national team. "The question is how to utilise the abilities of the players. Playing with foreign teams is beneficial but not the most important," Fahmi said.
"Egyptian players usually look at training abroad as a chance to have some fun but we do not see it that way. We think our players already benefit from league games with their clubs while others benefit by playing on the national team. This is how we did it before and it proved successful in previous competitions," Fahmi added.
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