Zambia 0 Hadary 1

Egypt took on Zambia last Saturday looking for an away win as the only option to maintain their hopes of qualification to next year's world cup in South Africa. I was expecting to see an Egyptian side full of purpose and energy. A side setup to score goals since score average was going to be a criteria. A coach who knew what he was doing. Off course Hassan Shehata never disappoints and Egypt put on one of the worst footballing displays in our history. I think this might have been worse than the Egypt/Ireland game in Italy 90'. At least then Gohary new what he wanted from the game, one point, and managed to do just that by parking the bus in front of our penalty area for 90 minutes. One can argue that Shehata did the same, Egypt did get 3 points thanks to a screamer from Hosny Abd Rabo (his form may have dropped but boy can he shoot a ball). We did get a 0-1 win at the end but we gave a new meaning to the term winning ugly. It's always a plus win you play poorly and win, it is said to be the mark of champions. Ahly does so on a regular bases and so does great teams like Man United.

The troubling point here is that Egypt managed just 2 shots (1 on target) for 90minutes. We failed to create a single goal scoring opportunity. Our defense was being ripped to shreds, especially behind our two wing backs Moawad and Fathi(Barakat). I'd accept that normally as when your are pushing forward spaces are bound to open up at the back, funny thing is that we weren't pushing forward! We couldn't connect 2 passes together so why were our wing backs out of positions on a regular bases? no bloody idea, ask captain Hassan as it seems he had no idea how Zambia were playing or how to adjust his team accordingly. Say what you say about El Hadary but he is the only reason we are still in World Cup contention. I stand by my words in previous articles that we need to prepare a replacement, but he has proved that he is a man for the big occasions and manages to lift his game accordingly. He did it in the CAN 2006 final and 2008 semis versus Cote D'Ivoire and lately versus Italy in the Confederations Cup. I only hope he can do it again versus Algeria. Hadary managed five world class saves in the first half to keep Egypt in the game. I'm not sure why the rest of the team couldn't lift their game but it seems clearly that most of them were over trained. The long preparation period seemed to have drained them and when you can't pass the ball extra physical effort can help, it didn't cause we did not have it either. I hope to god we don't postpone the league and have a very long preparation period prior to the game against Algeria.

We needed to win this game and you win games by creating chances. Egypt has arguably one of the best play makers in the continent in Mohamed Abu Trieka, so it would seem as a no brainier to use him, we didn't. Shehata proceeded to throw him upfront as a second striker and he rarely touched the ball for 90minutes as Ahmed Hassan and Abd Rabo couldn't fill in that role. Even Barakat was thrown as a wing back and it took our coach 30 minutes to realise that he doesn't have the legs to play there anymore, not in these conditions anyway. Trieka as a support striker might have worked if he has soemone to suplly him the ball and dictate play. Egypt has Hommos, the best passer of the ball in Egyptian football., however he was a sub and never saw any action.

We were slightly better in the second half after the addition of a second striker, but it was a low benchmark and we upped our game from crap to poor. We created half a chance and Hosny delivered. Zambia were distraught, they couldn't believe they conceded a goal as it seemed inevitable that they would score. Push on I thought, the Zambians have lost hope, Egypt's players have come to life, now is the time to put in a second and increase the pressure on Algeria. Never, not under Shehata's reign. Like we did against Rwanda we proceeded to waste time instead of delivering the killer blow to a dazed opponent. At the final whistle scenes of crazy celebrations were on hand. I had no idea why, It seemed I wasn't alone and ART analyst Khaled Bayoumi was baffled too. He was truly upset, as was I and as should any Egyptian who dreams of seeing his beloved Egypt in a World Cup . We had put ourselves in a bit of a jam with just a 1 nil victory, why the celebrations? Luck was on our side, why the rolling on the grass? We needed a favor from Rwanda, why the group hugs? A simple pat on the back would have sufficed followed by an apology by Shehata for an appalling performance and a thank you to Hadary and the right foot of Abd Rabo.

Rwanda did cut us some slack by maintaining a respectable score versus Algeria yesterday and losing just 3-1. After the game me and a friend pondered how simple it would have been to qualify. Just one or two more goals and a simple 1-0 defeat to of Algeria in Cairo would be enough. Apparently Shehata and the players didn't realize that and as Mr. Bayoumi implied it seems captain Hassan was only looking to keep his job by using the excuse that he didn't qualify to a world cup on goal difference, boohoo! Sadly for him we need to win by 2 clear goals to force a play-off game or a toss. Not the daunting task Shehata would have loved had Algeria thrashed Rwanda, no excuses. Sadly for us it would have been much simpler, had Shehata looked to the real goal and instructed his players to score goals and not celebrate poor 1-0 wins against mediocre opposition. My faith lies with the players and not their coach, like they did versus Brazil and in two CAN's they can rise to the occasion once more and take us to South Africa. They are after all the greatest footballing generation Egypt has ever seen and I'm afraid if they fail we will have to wait another 20years to come close.

Another major concern for me was the post match (excuses) conference:

1- The weather was hot

This really made me laugh as it seems Egypt is located in the North of Europe were temperatures are below zero for most of the year. Egypt is in Africa damn it. We are surrounded by desert and temperatures rise to mid 40's in the summer, so I don't think playing in the heat would be much of a shock to most players, hell most Egyptians.

2- The pitch was poor

Oh my god, have you ever seen a pitch in the Egyptian League? are you people from Egypt or maybe imposter's? 'Agroud' stadium anyone? The pitch was better than 75% of African fields.

3- We were upset the U-20 team lost in the World Cup which added extra pressure on us, was the final excuse.

I was extremely annoyed by this one. Shehata and Trieka both said it and it seemed like a PR stunt to suggest that they are the ones who please the fans. Regardless, what does the the U-20 team have to do with it? They lost in the World Cup second round after topping their group and scoring 9 goals. Shehata lost to Japan, drew with Jamiaca and beat England to finish 3rd in his group and get knocked out by Argentina in the same competition with a far superior team most of whom play in the current Egypt first team. I suggest Trieka and Shehata get to the World Cup first before talking about other teams. I pray to god we don't lose a game of ping pong or maybe not qualify for Cannes film festival before the Algeria match cause Shehata might break down before the game, then again why is that a bad thing?

Regardless of anything Egypt will be backing Shehata and his team against Algeria in November. Me I'll be counting on exceptional talents of Trieka and Zidan, the ever tireless Ahmed Hassan and Hadary. My money is on Egypt.

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/56/42/69/fifa_wc_south_africa_2010_regulations_en_14123.pdf

Page 21 has qualification rules

You don't Know What You are Doing

Well I wasn't planning on writing anything regarding this issue, but on my way to work I happen to turn on the radio and listen to a member of the Egyptian Football Federation Mr. Medhat Shalaby talk about the actions of Egyptian U-20 Striker Boogy or as he's called in the U-20 World Cup "Bogy". What he was saying really bothered me.

Let's first recap the incident in question. During Egypt crunch U-20 World Cup game versus Italy and with the scores level at 2-2 Bogy entered the game with 30minutes to go having only played a few minutes in the previous games. With almost his first touch of the ball he scored a well taken header from inside the six yard box to give Egypt the lead. As his team mates rushed to congratulate him, the big striker astonishingly proceeded to push them away with great anger and seemed to be running towards the bench uttering insults directed towards the Egyptian head coach Miroslav Soukup and his assistant former Egyptian international Hani Ramzy. Thankfully his teammates managed to tackle him to the ground in celebration. He later added a wonderful second goal to put away the result.

Mr. Shalaby proceeded to say that Bogy was "unjustly" benched and as a result he exploded with these actions that are off course incorrect. He continued that the boy was a starter in friendly games in preparation to the tournament and showed great promise and "stars" like him don't like to be benched. Bogey was punished with a fine and Mr. Shalaby added that anybody calling for his suspension was gravely mistaken. I switched off the radio.

I didn't agree with every single word Mr. Shalaby said. For starters how is benching a player unjust? I thought the coach was who to decide his starting eleven and making excuses for a 19 year old boy that decided to swear at his manager instead of thanking him for this opportunity is baseless. The boy should be thanking Soukup for the faith he has bestowed open him and giving him the chance to portray his skills in front of his country and the world. Bogy's two goals would have been enough of a statement to any manager in the world. "I win games, play me!"

Calling a 19 year old that 99% of football fans in Egypt didn't even know what he looked like a "Star" baffles me. Yes stars don't like getting benched but even football greats don't proceed to swear at managers after scoring goals. Imagine Drogba swearing at Ancelotti or Rooney at Sir Alex! Bogy is NOT a Star, he is a football player that should have been taught a lesson about the true spirit of the game. Off course he should not be made a scape goat publicly least of all cause he is young but mostly not to upset the team spirit during an important tournament. However he should be severely punished. What example are we sending to our younger generation of footballers coming through and people watching the game. What about his team mates? It's ok to be rude and violent if you score goals? I'm eager to see if Mr. Soukup will play him next game, either way it is up to him.

The words of forgiveness coming from an Egyptian Federation member don't make sense though as Mr. Shalaby was a member of the same Federation that allowed Hassan Shehata to publicly suspend Mido from playing CAN 2006 final after a row he had with him for subbing him off. Mido mind you is a Star and didn't once insult Shehata in the ordeal. It was up to the coach to play him or not but the Federation proceeded to ban Mido for 2months. Why the inconsistency? Is there a personal problem with Mido? Maybe it's cause Mr. Shehata was about to win a major tournament and they didn't want to upset him? Possibly to find an excuse if Soukup and Ramzy fail to beat Costa Rica tomorrow while not playing him? Where was the media? Who knows?

Again this is the same Federation that supported Shehata in banning Egypt Star Mohamed Zidan for failing to attend a friendly home game and branding him a traitor!!!!. These incidents seem very subtle as compared to an attempt to assault your coaches and actually swearing at them on international television. I'm sorry Mr. Shalaby and Mr. Zaher, but you don't know what your doing. Stop the inconsistency and double standards

Les Miserables

It has been an incredibly stressful task watching AC Milan this season. Yes I already had low expectations following their mediocre pre-season performances and their below par transfer activity, but when you see a once great team unraveling in front of your own eyes it's just something else.

Milan started the week with a home game against Bari, a club rumored to be worth around 30 Million Euros on the verge of a takeover. Yes half the price of Kaka'. You can buy his right side only, or maybe two thighs worth, or just the left leg of Ronaldo...you get the picture.

It was supposed to be a routine victory for Milan, playing at home against a newly promoted team even if Bari were punching above their weight recently. It was not to be. Giampiero Ventura's team outplayed Milan for most of the game. The quartet of Rivas, Barreto, Alvarez and Kutosov dominated the game and caused havoc on the counter attack forcing Storari to make a string of excellent saves. I found myself thinking that these four players might be useful for Milan to acquire, one of whom is a Milan reject. How times have changed I thought. Rivas however is a true gem. The 26 year old Argentine was phenomenal. He combined pace and flair to a fantastic effect. Although lacking a bit when it comes to finishing he has the ability to dribble past anyone. Just ask Gattuso....Abate and Nesta. He tormented the Milan defense until he ran out of steam and was substituted. Milan could do well by looking to Rivas come the end of season especially since he has what they are lacking in abundance, Pace. A 0-0 draw was flattering for Milan and on another day could have lost by 1 or 2 goals. The fans understood that and rightly applauded Bari.

Milan did not create any clear cut chances this game and frankly depending on Ronaldinho for the rest of the season is suicide. He is now officially in my opinion a has been. He always looks for the extravagant or the dribble, it used to work for him at Barca when he was focused and in shape, not so now. His attitude also rubbed me the wrong way. Every single tackle against him he fell to the ground smiling and complaining to the referee. It seems Ronnie has forgotten that we are not playing "Touch" football, but a game for men where tackling was allowed. Either he shapes up or we should let go of him, maybe Man City are still interested? How we could have used Gourcuff now...sigh.

Another disturbing thing was Leonardo. I was always making excuses for him due to his lack of experience and how he inherited an old lack luster team, but come one this is Milan. It's a team that has Nesta, Zambrotta, Gattuso, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Pirlo, Pato, Inzaghi and Ronaldinho. Some of them maybe a bit old and past their prime. They maybe not strong enough to win the Scudetto, but they are more than capable of dispatching teams like Bari (no offense to Bari, they are a very good team on the rise and whom I will be supporting next to Milan this season). Leonardo has failed to utilize his team in any way and tactically they are lacking. During the Bari game he failed to turn the game around for 90minutes. Watching Milan you tend to feel that nothing is happening, tactically that is. Huntelaar has not got a goal scoring chance since he has arrived and yet he is blamed for not scoring. Leonardo is not up to par. He again proved how clueless he is against FC Zurich.

AC Milan lost to FC Zurich by 1 goal to nil at the San Siro. They failed to turn the game around for 80minutes. Leonardo again watched as any spectator. Yes they were better than the Bari game but FC Zurich is a weaker team than Bari. Milan did create chances but so did Zurich. Arguably Milan deserved at least a point from the game. I can't believe I wrote the last sentence. Milan deserved a point at home versus an unknown team? these are sad times indeed for all Rossonero fans. Milan now face elimination from the Champions League group stage. They will face the unstoppable Real Madrid in the next two rounds and realistically I don't see us grabbing a single point from those games. Madrid have a better squad and a much better coach. Leonardo must up his game or leave. He has inherited a somewhat weakened squad but this is no excuse to turn Milan into a mockery. I'm dreading facing Ronaldo and co. , but still I keep the faith. Forza Milan