Obituary:
Death of a hero
Thabet El-Batal (1953 - 2005)
HE HAD a marvelous name for a goalkeeper: Thabet El-Batal (Solid Hero). And he had the skills to match the name.
When he passed away late on Sunday night at the age of 52, El-Batal hardly looked like the mustachioed swashbuckler who minded the nets for Ahli and Egypt for 18 years, starting in 1974. Cancer had advanced. He was gaunt. And the night before he was terribly cold. On live TV on Saturday, he was seen on the bench, clothed tightly in a blanket, watching Ahli beat their great arch-rivals Zamalek 3-0, a win which culminated a remarkable year for the club.
El-Batal was the director of the club's football operations. He was described as tough as nails on the job, not unlike his persona as a player. In goal for Ahli, El-Batal won 11 national league titles, seven FA Cups and five African Champions League titles. Platooning with Ikrami the pair formed one of Egypt's greatest goalkeeping duos for club and country.
In perhaps his greatest moment, El-Batal saved a penalty in the shootout against Cameroon in the final of the 1986 African Nations Cup. Egypt went on to win the tournament.
In all he played 225 matches for Ahli, the only club he ever played for, and 60 internationals before retiring at 38.
Two years ago El-Batal turned down a LE125,000 a month salary in Libya to remain with Ahli.
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