Football in the blood

Ali Tawfik is a 15-year-old 10th grader at the American International School in Cairo

Why do you love football?

I like all sports in general. I play basketball too, but football is something else. Both my parents are football crazy and fanatic Ahli fans. My older brother used to go to the Ahli Club tryouts, and he used to take me with him when I was five. I can actually remember the first match I went to -- it was in 1996 (I was only eight) between Ahli and Damietta in Cairo. Ahli won that match 5-0 or 5-1. It was thrilling. There is an amazing thrill about football -- if you're watching, or if you're playing, I don't feel that thrill with any other sport.

Do you play football or just enjoy watching?

Of course I play football. I used to go to the Maadi Club when I was younger, but now I stopped because my friends don't go there anymore. I now play at school during our lunch break, and I can proudly say that I am the best player in the grade. I am good to the extent that sometimes when the older grades are playing and they are missing a team member, they ask me to play with them because they know I am the best in my grade.

What do you do when you're not playing football?

I love music. I compose my own techno music. I also spend a lot of time playing Play Station, mostly soccer games; I play Winning Eleven, Pro Evolution, FIFA and International Superstar Soccer. I also play a really cool game on the computer called Championship Managerwhere I formulate a team from different European clubs and I decide who is a defender, striker, etc, and I explain the plan to the players. My team then plays against the computer. I also use the Internet a lot. I read sports news and I download famous goals. I'm not really into reading books, but I like reading sports magazines. Although I don't speak German, when I go to Germany in the summer I buy German soccer magazines, and because I've read so many, I have started to understand German.

Doesn't your infatuation with football affect other aspects in your life, such as your studies?

Last year, I didn't get good grades, so my dad took my Play Station, and I wasn't allowed to play except on my days off. But he's forgotten it was in my room and I didn't remind him and I'm not planning to.

Do you have a girlfriend?

Not right now, no. But I do have a best friend who is a girl. I used to like a girl once, but I didn't really concentrate on our relationship. I could have told her I liked her, but I didn't. At that time, she would call me, and I would be watching a match, and I would tell her I had to go because I had to watch the match. I think that upset her. Because I'm so into soccer, I don't have time for girls.

What would you do if Egypt hosts the 2010 World Cup?

I would definitely go to all the matches in Cairo. There is no way I will miss a match and I would stay at home and watch all the matches I won't be able to see. I definitely want to meet the players and get their autographs and buy their t-shirts. It would be great. I'm dying to see (AC Milan's) Andriy Shevchenko -- he's my favourite. If you are going to publish this, tell him that, "I wish him all the best."

How do you spend your summers?

I usually go to Germany for a month because my aunt lives there. I like going to stadiums and watching live matches. In 2000, the Olympia Stadium in Munich was celebrating its 100th anniversary and they had a huge celebration and many international players were involved in it.

I spend most of my summer pocket money on soccer shirts in Germany.

How many soccer shirts do you have?

I have three Milan shirts (with different names printed on their back), one Inter Milan shirt, four Bayern Munich, one Juventus, one Monaco, one Roma, one Barcelona, one Manchester United, one Italy, one Brazil and two Ahli shirts. I really want to buy a Real Madrid shirt with Raul printed on it, the Valencia shirt and the Arsenal shirt with Henry or Pires printed on it.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I'm not sure, but I will probably major in business administration and try to start a company that can sponsor football tournaments. I want to be involved in football and help Egyptian football, especially Ahli. I always wanted to be a football player in Ahli, but I don't think that is realistic. I definitely know that if I get married, my wife has to like football and there is no way I will marry a Zamalek fan -- she has to like Ahli just like I do.

Essam

Essam Hassanein is a 48-year-old banker, married to a dentist with two girls, Nooran, 15, and Radwa, 12.

What do you do in your spare time?

When I was younger I used to go out with friends, read more and travel to different places for the weekend, but now there isn't much time for interests. When you work all day, you sort of become lazy and just want to sit around and do nothing in the afternoon. Basically what I do now is follow football all my free time.

What leagues do you follow?

I watch the Egyptian league of course, and the Egyptian Cup, especially Ahli games. But recently I subscribed to the cable football channels, although they are pretty expensive and my wife disapproved. But I really wanted them, and this is football -- no one can argue with me about football. Now I get to watch the English premier league, the Italian and Spanish, and sometimes when the leagues are off I watch Japanese matches. Any match entertains me.

Do you have problems with your wife and children over your television habits?

Of course, but I am the man of the house. My wife always complains that I don't help with the children. They study most of the time and when they are done, they want to watch television for a while. If there isn't an important match, they can watch for two hours, and then it's their bedtime anyway. But now that they are older I'm trying to get them used to watching matches. Football is good for girls, because when they are older and get married, their husbands will want to watch football too. I don't want them to get bored!

But what if they don't like it?

They will. What I do is that I talk to them while the match is on. I explain to them that this player is really good because he can do so and so, and this one isn't because so and so. During the next match I remind them of what I had said previously, and make comparisons with other players. Therefore, they will have a fair background, and at least won't hate the sport. In the summer, I take them to the club. Nooran plays basketball, and Radwa likes swimming, but when they are done, I play football with them, and although they are not good at it, they enjoy running around the ball. I'm sure that in a few years time they will love football just like I do.

Have you ever played football or been part of a team?

Of course. Any normal Egyptian man must have played football at some point in his life. I used to play at school and I was always an Ahli fanatic. I remember when it was the night before Eid, I would play football in the street with all my neighbours. This trend went on for at least 15 years and then I got married and moved out, but I long for them, they were fun. I used to go to live matches all the time, and cheer with the "daraga talta"(third class) crowd -- it was wild. Now I'm too old to do that, although I did go to a few Egyptian national team matches over the past few years.

How would you feel if Egypt hosts the 2010 World Cup?

It would be great. It would be an excellent opportunity for tourism in Egypt to flourish even more. On the other hand, all Egyptian men will definitely stay at home for at least a month to watch every single match! In 2002, I took a whole month off and watched World Cup matches all day and night. That was a problem because my children and wife hated me. I refused to change the channel and I wouldn't leave the house at all, but it's the World Cup -- what were they expecting? If 2010 comes to Egypt, they better forget about seeing me for the entire World Cup period. I'd definitely go to the matches live. You don't get that opportunity everyday.

Niveen

Niveen Maged is a 22-year-old college student studying political science.

Not many girls love football...

I guess I am considered strange.

Why?

How many girls do you know who like football, play football, watch football and refuse to talk about anything else except for football? In Egypt it's normal to find a guy who loves football, but when it's a girl it's different. Even guys are scared of you because they are intimidated by your interests or think you aren't feminine enough because you like football more than they do. It's just tough when you're dealing with such mentalities.

Do you have a boyfriend right now?

No, I used to, but not right now. Don't worry, it's not because of football, but there were some problems to do with that issue. Sometimes I would want to watch a match and he'd want to go out, but they would be important matches I didn't want to miss, like Champions League matches, or Ahli and Zamalek. But he wasn't too much into football -- he didn't hate it, but didn't love it like I do, so he got fed-up I guess.

How did your infatuation with football start?

I have two older brothers, and when I was young I used to feel really lonely because I didn't have any sisters I could play with, so I ended up doing what my brothers did. When they played football in the house I played with them and when they watched a match I watched it with them. Our parents liked that we did things together rather than fight over different hobbies, so they encouraged me to go to the club with my brothers and watch them play football. When I was eight I joined the girls' football team at school and then I went and played at the club as well. Now my brothers don't watch football like I do, but they do make fun of me for being more of a guy than they are.

Do you still play football, or have you stopped?

When I went to university I had to leave the school team of course, but I still go to the club and play like once a week. But the problem is that I can't do it as frequently as I used to anymore. People at the club stare at you when you play football -- it's frustrating, annoying and depressing. I hate feeling that I'm an alien -- it takes the pleasure out of the game. When my brothers go to play with their friends they let me participate. Otherwise I keep in touch by watching every single match I can get my hands on.

Have you ever gone to a match?

I went to the Real Madrid vs. Ahli match with my father and I had a lot of fun. It was my first live match ever and I loved it. My parents won't allow me to go to a match alone, so when I found out that my dad was going I went with him right away.

How would you feel if Egypt hosts the 2010 World Cup?

Wow! I was just thinking about that. It would be great. I would definitely force my brothers to take me to the matches in Cairo, and if they don't I will force my best friend to come with me. I never wake up early unless I really have to, but in the last World Cup I sat in front of TV like a couch potato all day for the entire month. The World Cup is just different -- you have to watch it, you can't miss it and if it's in your country you get a lot or privileges like seeing players and buying football t-shirts. It's just different. I can't wait really.