4 - 10 October 2001
Issue No.554
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 4 - 10 October 2001 Issue No.554 |
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Half-time
Join the club
In his five years as a footballer Ibrahim Said quickly gained a reputation for being big on skill on the field but with an even bigger ego off it. Ever since the 23-year-old Ahli defender secretly fled to Belgium in February for the greener and more lucrative fields of Europe, he has been lambasted in the local press as ungrateful, a turncoat and just plain spoilt. His return to Egypt after negotiations with his Belgian club broke down did nothing to alter his image.
His most diehard supporters forgive but can't forget his sudden departure in the cover of night just days before Ahli was to have played Zamalek in what was a pivotal game for Ahli. Without Said, an imposing figure in the back four, Ahli lost the game and eventually the league title, surrendering the crown for the first time in seven years.
Suspended for six months, the player is at present neither here nor there. He has been banned from playing with Ahli though the club refuses to let him go. He has tried his luck in England without success and has recently been reported negotiating with Zamalek.
The public and media have drawn inevitable comparisons between Said and twins Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan, the bad boys of Egyptian football. Their pugnacity has often landed them in hot water but the least that can be said is that they have a history of success to back up their antics. Not so for the still raw Said.
Said is a maverick with an attitude, having dyed his hair red, a common practice abroad but alien to this part of the world. He is also vicious, once striking a policeman for a traffic violation. He boasts, bragging that one day he could be the best player in the world. And he relishes the limelight, even if he's in the news for all the wrong reasons. His antics should be ignored, his shenanigans disregarded. The media, and this column is no exception, has probably given Said more than his due.
Said's prowess on the field is not in dispute. A gifted player with natural athletic ability, he has a formidable presence in the backfield -- an acclaimed superman and a marauder. His charges from the back to the front lines is electric to watch. His zeal has sometimes gotten the better of him. In the heat of the moment he has on occasion fouled opponents for needless penalties at the most inopportune times but his goal-to-goal rushes have compensated for his defensive lapses.
By slapping an indefinite ban on Said from playing, Ahli has certainly taken the right decision, for the club has announced there will be no arm- twisting by the player, no matter how good he is.
There have been many famous examples in world sport of athletes with an outsized chip on their shoulder which proved their downfall. Diego Maradona has for years been battling drug addiction. Mike Tyson's violent side extended well beyond the boxing ring when he was jailed for three years for rape. While not as problematic, still John McEnroe's petulance and temper tantrums with linesmen and officials landed him on the wrong side of even his biggest fans. They were all legends, blessed with talent that took them to the pinnacle of their sport. And they were all cursed with an ego that consumed them. Maradona and Tyson self-destructed when there were still several years left in their legs.
Ibrahim Said, welcome to the club.
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