31 Jan. - 6 Feb. 2002
Issue No.571
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 Jan. - 6 Feb. 2002 Issue No.571 |
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Exit one, enter another
less than a week in their Mali 2002 campaign, Egypt's football squad threw out a troublemaker and recalled a veteran, Alaa Shahine reports
Egypt's star striker Hossam Hassan is doubtful about his participation in today's crucial match against Zambia in the African Nations Cup (ANC) but his presence will be welcome all the same.
Hossam Hassan;Ibrahim Said
photo: Amr Gamal & Mohamed Wassim
Hassan belatedly flew to Mali on Sunday following therapeutic treatment in France for a pulled hamstring in his right leg suffered during a friendly on 5 January.
Although French doctors advised him that his return to the field should be gradual and that he should not play for at least 10 days, Hassan's help would be of immense benefit as Egypt hopes to get by Zambia to secure a place in the quarter-finals. In the last two encounters, Egypt won 4-0 and 2-0 respectively, with Hassan finding the net four times. In Mali, should he play, it will be Hassan's third participation in the premier African competition, the first two being in 1986 and 1998. On both occasions, the Pharaohs lifted the title.
But speaking to the Weekly before flying to the Malian capital of Bamako, Hassan, whose seven goals in the 1998 edition of the championship helped Egypt capture the title, said he had not even touched a ball since the injury. "So I don't know if I'm fit to play, but I am going to Mali upon the request of [coach] Mahmoud El-Gohari. I cannot turn him down."
Should Hassan suit up today, he would be playing at a time he should be resting his leg. "Of course I'm afraid," Hassan said when asked if he feared being injured again. "But I trust in God and I will play if El- Gohari wants me to. It is a national duty and I don't want to miss it."
So highly does El-Gohari regard Hassan that he took the highly unusual and risky decision to include him on the 22-man roster -- even though Hassan was undergoing treatment in France when his name was being pencilled in.
Even if Hassan does not lace up in Mali, his mere presence with his teammates can be inspiring. Famed for his stamina and perseverance, the 36-year-old brings a cool head and a steadying hand to the raw juniors on the squad.
Flying to Mali would allow Hassan to gain personal benefit. His departure has gone some way toward quashing rumours that he was deliberately avoiding to play because of a possible doping test in Mali. "That is a ridiculous accusation and I won't even bother to answer."
This would not be the first time Hassan has been summoned into action by El-Gohari. In 1999, he took part in the Confederation Cup in Mexico while suffering from a foot injury. He started the team's first encounter against Bolivia only to aggravate the injury and was later ruled out for several months. Hopefully, there will not be a repeat scenario.
Egypt's soccer defender Ibrahim Said follows trouble as closely as he marks opposing strikers. At times, he seems more successful chasing the former.
The defender with an incessant chip on his shoulder finds himself trying to defend his actions once again, this time after being expelled from Egypt's football squad currently playing in Mali.
The wayward 22-year-old was sent packing after being caught making a late-night, long-distance phone call from the lobby of his hotel on the eve of the team's opening match against Senegal. The call violated ground rules laid down by coach Mahmoud El-Gohari concerning room curfews. While it might not have warranted the drastic step El- Gohari took, it seems the coach simply had had enough.
Earlier this month, Said was sent off during a friendly match against Ghana in Ismailia after brazenly kicking an opponent in the back. His woes were compounded a few days later when he entered into a shouting match with teammates Abdel-Zaher El-Sakka and Ahmed Hassan following Egypt's friendly with Burkina Faso in Cairo. El-Sakka and Hassan blamed Said for allowing the visitors to redress a two-goal lead and snatch a draw. The incidents prompted El-Gohari to issue the player an ultimatum: either shape up or be put on the first plane back to Cairo.
"The telephone incident did not merit being sent back home for," Talaat Fawwaz, head of the team's delegation in Mali, told Dream TV. "The decision was based upon an accumulation of mistakes Said made before and after our arrival in Bamako," Fawwaz added.
Said agreed with Fawwaz's assessment. "I strongly believe the quarrel with Hassan and El-Sakka was the turning point," he told the Weekly. "What I did in Mali was the final straw."
Some press reports did not buy the phone episode. "A British girl is behind the ouster of Ibrahim Said," wrote the weekly sports tabloid El-Foursan. The weekly Sout El- Omma supported the view. Both publications were referring to Said's UK girlfriend who was reportedly with him in Mali, a situation the squad's officials found unacceptable.
But the player strongly denied the claims. "I'm not out of my mind to do such things. I had many personal problems that affected my relationship with my teammates. They (the press) say I also offended Samir Adli [the national team's administrative official]. But I would like to tell them that Adli booked my return ticket from his own pocket because I was broke," Said said.
Upon the player's return to Cairo, the Egyptian Football Association suspended him both domestically and internationally pending an investigation after the end of the African Cup. Reports suggest he could face a long international ban and a huge fine.
Said and trouble seem wedded. In 1999, he was on the verge of being kicked out of the Olympic soccer team that was playing a crucial away game with Morocco in the 2000 Sydney Olympics qualifiers. According to the then team director, Ahmed Shoubeir, Said stayed out well into the night, violating the team's curfew policy.
Last March he fled to Belgium, without permission from Ahli, to join Belgian side Ghent. Ahli complained to FIFA, claiming the player violated his contract. Football's governing body ordered the player sent back to his club which then slapped Said with a six-month ban.
Two years earlier, Said had been arrested after assaulting a traffic policeman. The parties reached an out-of-court settlement after Ahli interceded.
Is Ibrahim Said unstable? The public seems to think so. In a survey carried out by the football web site www.filgoal.com, 58 per cent of the 790 people polled said the player needed psychiatric help, 24 per cent disagreed, four per cent said they wished the subject was closed and 14 per cent said they were not interested in the problem.
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