Badry vs Leonardo

For non Egyptian readers Hossam El Badry is the coach of the most successful club in Africa and Egypt, Ahly, my team. Leonardo is an ex Brazilian international who inherited the AC Milan squad in the post Kaka' era. Both men are on their first job as the number one man, their situation carries both common factors and huge difference.

Badry was given the job of managing Egyptian champions Ahly after the board parted ways with legendary coach Manuel Jose. He was Jose's second man for many years and became the first Egyptian coach of the club for a very long time. He had a lot of shoes to fill but he had the champions that boasted a lot of internationals and stars of the Egypt National team. Players like Abu Trieka, Meteb, Gomaa, Fathi, Ahmed Hassan, Moawad and Barakat. Most of these players are on the wrong side of thirty but still showed a lot of hunger. Badry was not building a new team or resurrecting a wounded giant (like Hossam Hassan is doing managing Zamalek). However the local media as always would like to make us think that Badry is tackling an impossible mission with Ahly. They insist that the team needs a major overhaul just because we won the league on the final day of the season. The media here is always behind the local coach. Ahly just drew their latest game after throwing a 2-0 half time advantage due to tactical errors from the coach, who does the media blame? The keeper! Badry has just won 1 game from the last 4 in the second round of the league. Something is wrong and he should not be commended for tackling the impossible because frankly it's not that hard.

Leonardo on the other hand is man thrown straight into the fire. Milan have not won a Scudetto for a very long time and lost their main star in Kaka' to Real Madrid in the summer. Most of the team is past their prime, wrong side of 30 and 35. Plus the management says it does not have enough money to spend. So basically Milan looks in trouble. Prior to the start of the season I thought a UEFA qualification would be an achievement. Leonardo has never had a managerial role before and was still studying for his coaching certificate after his appointment. He had several roles in AC Milan from head scout to Sporting Director. Experience was not on his side. Leonardo was tackling the impossible and not Badry. He had a battered and old squad, no money and no experience. Not to mention media attacks on him.

Badry has changed Ahly's style of play from 3-5-2 to a narrow 4-4-4 (or 4-5-1). He was mostly successful and come mid way through the league he was leading the table. Mind you Ahly's performances left a lot to be desired but we were doing enough to stay ahead of the competition. Ahly had a lot of injuries to deal with and so was forced to field many youth players. Too many though if you ask me. Championship teams give 2-3 youth a chance per season and they don't play them every game. Look at Manchester United. Badry had a chance in the transfer market but bought poorly. Dipping into the market to get players like striker Moudi Fadl who frankly is not up to par. He also bought Ekramy the keeper just as his young goalie was coming into his own. Now he is second choice! He managed though to unearth some good talents while injuries

were a problem none more so than Attacking midfielder Shokry who is a brilliant talent. It worked well for Ahly and the youth performed well. Problems started to arise once the veterans started recovering from injury. All coaches would be happy with that, Badry seemed confused and unsure. In the last 4 games or so he has consistently changed around 5 players from the starting line up each game. Two Sets of Strikers in 2 consecutive games. Then a mixture of the 2 sets, then one striker. Shokry was suddenly benched, Shebeta his favorite was now on the fringes and it seems he has no position for Abdallah Farouk and plays him everywhere just for the sake of playing him. He is too chicken to substitute Ahmed Hassan after the nations cup and suddenly Afroto plays one good game and so he is a must play. Jose never gave a chance to any youths but Badry has turned us into an elementary school. You don't experiment half way thought the season with a championship team. You have your starters and incorporate a few numbers of youth and reserves accordingly. Badry is no longer doing a good job and I guess the Africa Cup of Nations break gave him too much time on his hands. He should be criticized and frankly he did not inherit a difficult task, he made it difficult.

Leonardo knew what was required from his employers. They wanted Milan to play exciting football and Leo responded. He changed the whole look of Milan. He incorporated a 4-3-3 with Ronaldinho on one side Pato on the other and Boriello as a target man. He managed to invigorate Ronaldinho into the player he once was. He has a hunger to him that has been absent for the last 3 years. He has found his touch back and some of his blistering pace in the final third. Ronnie has contributed around 20 assists this season. Leo has instilled confidence in Borriello and he became prolific and integral to Milan's efforts. Ancelotti was always complaining that Borriello was injured and I thought why is crying about an unknown. This season I know why. Borriello scored fantastic goals; he has a sweet touch and is physically strong to bang around in the penalty area. Leonardo has kept the core of the team intact. Only a few new faces are involved. Thiago Silva who has become indispensible, Abbati on occasion, Huntelaar who although rarely starts has scored 6 goals and is always eager for more and Antonini. The rest of the old guard is still there but you would not be able to tell. Ambrosini, Nesta, Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf to name a few. Leo has mixed it up perfectly and excited his players to play for him. Yet he is still getting the stick by the media and his employers but as a true professional he continues to work in silence. Yesterday AC Milan managed to beat Fiorentina and go second in Serie A with only 4 points behind Inter, who would have though. Don't be surprised if Milan pulls out the impossible at Old Trafford. Leonardo has shown how to turn the impossible into the possible. Mr. Badry can learn a thing or two about having your back to the wall. He has lived in an illusion created by the media until it had become a reality. He better snap out of it or else Ahly will throw away the league.

Mido is back?

Mido has always been the center of controversy when it comes to Egyptian football had joined West Ham in January for a reported wage of only 1,000 English Pounds per week. 4,000 pounds a month for any Egyptian would be considered a very good salary. Not for footballers though. His salary seems insanely low even for Egyptians practicing their trade locally. So how come he is getting payed that low?

Looking back at his history may provide us with a more clear view. Mido left Egypt at the tender age of 16 to join Belgian side Gent. For the next 10 years he has been all over Europe joining a total of 10 clubs from his glory days at Ajax till his forgettable Middlesborough spell. Frankly the kid does not need the money anymore. Recently he has been injury prone due to a very noticeable increase in his weight. This and his attitude has caused him problems with many mangers most notably Egypt's Hassan Shehata who has not called up Mido for the last 2 Nations Cup. He has been dubbed lazy and a trouble maker, well why would you put any effort if you owned a Ferrari at 18 yrs of age. In his defense though I have always though that the lad gave 110% percent when it came to representing his country.

The huge pay cut he took to play again in the Premier League is not because he was unwanted or that he was pimping himself in someway. I think it is a great positive step on his part and it shows that at 26 years of age Mido has matured enough to realize that it is not just about the money. Mido wants to play football again at the highest level, he wants to leave some sort of legacy when it comes to football. He has been around for ages but he is only 26 and has a minimum of a good 6 years of football in him. I'm not sure what the trigger was (maybe his exclusion from the Egyptian team) but it seems Mido has taken a long hard look at himself and seen what his former teams mates have achieved (Zlatan at Barcelona and Drogba at Chelsea) while he took the role of club hopper. Mido seems to be back.

Shame on some footballers who have made fun of his wage cut mainly the likes of Cashly (Ashly) Cole who by the way sold his boyhood club for a few extra quid. Well it was not just a few extra quid, but this kind of attitude was always beyond me. When your are getting payed around 50,000 quid a week is it worth changing settings, causing trouble and leaving friends behind for lets say 80,000 a week? They are both insane amounts of money but I feel other criteria should come in play. The main reason for switching clubs in my option would be to win trophies. Well money is a target early on but later it just rubs me the wrong the way. Mido should be commended on his pioneering action and players like Cashly are afraid others may do it and player like him would only be paid the pathetic sum of 30,000 or 50,000 quid.

Say what you like about Mido but this is a step in the right direction in the hope that he may one day regain his stature in Egypt and in Europe. Good luck to him

CAN 2010: Review

The curtains have fallen on the latest installment of the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. It was a tournament where sadly the attack on the Togo national team that left 2 dead has overshadowed the football. Frankly the caliber of football on display throughout CAN 2010 left a lot to be desired. However one team did fit the bill, Egypt. The Pharaohs constantly entertained throughout their successful title defending campaign. Egypt managed to finish off with a host of records and achievements.

a) It was a 3rd successive win for Egypt, a feat that was never achieved in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations.

b) This was a 7th Cup win for the Pharaohs, three clear of their nearest rivals Cameroon and Ghana

c) Egypt have stretch their undefeated record in the competition to 19 games spanning from 2004 ( a 0-0 draw with Cameroon in Tunisia) till the 1-0 defeat of Ghana in Angola 2010

d) Egypt have the joint record (with Ghana) of participating in the Final game of the competition. Both Nations have played 8 finals.

e) Egypt hold the record for most Africa Cup of Nations appearances.

f) Egypt have scored more goals in the CAN than any other nations

g) Egypt have scored the most goals in Angola 2010, 15 goals. Tying their previous record in Ghana 2008

Individually Egypt had a lot to show for as well:

a) Best Player of the Tournament was awarded to Egypt Captain Ahmed Hassan

b) Goal Keeper of the Tournament was awarded to Egypt Shot Stopper Essam Al Hadary

c) Top Scorer of Angola 2010 was Mohamed Naggy "Geddo" with 5 goals to his name.

d) Hassan Shehata became the first ever coach to win 3 successive Cup of Nations.

e) Geddo became the first ever tournament top scorer to win the award off the bench, failing to start a single game in the competition.

f) Ahmed Hassan became the most capped player in Egypt's history surpassing the legendary Hossam Hassan with 172 Caps.

g) Ahmed Hassan became the most capped player in the history of the African Continent with 172 Caps.

The previous list of achievements are facts. To keep things a bit more interesting I decided to make my own awards depending solely on my opinion

Best Goal:

Winner:Abdel Kader Kieta, Cote D'Ivoire vs Algeria.

Coming across the pitch from the right hand side dribbling past players he unleashed a screamer in the top corner worthy of winning any match, it didn't though.

Runner Up:Mohamed Zidan, Egypt vs Algeria.

The striker dribbled to the edge of the penalty area and proceeded to twist and turn Algeria's Belhadj several times showing incredible skill and ball control and then unleashed a left footed strike into the top corner, magical.

Best Team: Egypt, Isn't it obvious?

Black Horse: Zambia, The Copper Bullets looked dead and buried after an agonizing defeat to Cameroon. They came back to beat Gabon and top their group only to lose to Nigeria on penalties in the Quarter Final. Well done.

Best Surprise: Ghana, Missing star players like Muntari, Appiah, Panstil, Mensah and with Essien just recovering from injury their coach was forced to field a lot of youngsters, it did not look good for the black stars. A destructive defeat in their first game against Cote D'Ivoire added to their woes and no on gave them a chance. They reached the final and lost a very close game to Egypt.

Surprise Result: Malawi 3 Algeria 0, No one in world football expected this result. Malawi were virtual new comers on the African scene and Algeria were world cup qualifiers. Malawi dominated and was aided with some goal keeping howlers and deserved their win. Sadly they could not capitalize on the win and crashed out from the first round. Algeria picked themselves up and reached the Semi Final.

Most Thrilling Match: Angola 4 Mali 4, The hosts came on strong with goals from Flavio, Gilberto and Manucho and took a commanding 4-0 lead with 15minutes to go. The Angolans were celebrating until Mali constructed one of the most miraculous of footballing comebacks scoring 4 goals in succession. The last two of which came in injury time. No one could believe their eyes!

Most Enjoyable Match: Egypt 4 Algeria 0, This game was very enjoyable to me. The African Champions proceeded to dismantle the Algerian team with calm, cool and lethal display of football. Revenge was sweet.

Best Player: Ahmed Hassan (Egypt), The Egyptian skipper lead his team to a third successive Cup win and a personal fourth. His energetic and experienced displays were a joy to behold. He was critical to Egypt's campaign in both attack and defense. You would never guess that he was turning 35 years old.

Break Out Star: Mohamed Geddo (Egypt), The striker was a virtual unknown quantity to Egyptians and Africans alike. Shehata gambled on him by including him ahead of the likes of Mido and Zaki and he repaid him in spades. Having a soft touch and a clinical eye for goal, Geddo proceeded to score some breath taking goals, coming off the bench in every single game. His master piece was a peach in the final to win Egypt the tournament. He finished off as top scorer and this will always be remembered as the tournament of Geddo.

Best Keeper:

Winner: Essam Al Hadary (Egypt)

Runner Up: Richard Kingson (Ghana)

In a competition which was shaped by goal keeping mistakes these two keepers are the only ones in the tournament that looked at ease between the posts. Both of them were not fantastic but their consistent displays helped their teams to the Final.

Best Coach:

Winner: Hassan Shehata (Egypt),The veteran achieved the unthinkable with the Pharaohs, winning a third successive Cup of Nations. He was criticized severely after failing to reach the World Cup but has gone along way in redeeming himself. Thought to be the greatest ever African and Egyptian Coach.

Runner Up: Milovan Rajevac (Ghana), With a depleted side and forced to start many youngsters from the world champion under 20 side he managed to forge a formidable team. The players were very disciplined and extremely fit and physical. The injured veterans will have a hard time breaking into the squad. Watch out for Ghana in the World Cup.

Honorable Mention: Arnaud Sika (Benin), He is an excellent player and was Benin's best performer. He is also possibly the smallest ever professional footballer at 155cm (5ft 1in).

Worst Player: Rigobert Song (Cameroon), He had previously not missed a single minute in the Cup Of Nations for his country. An appalling display against Zambia, where he was responsible for the 2 goals Cameroon conceded forced his coach to bench him for the rest of the tournament. He looked lazy and unfit. He was a great player and should respect his history and retire after the world cup.

Worst Coach: Fawzy El Benzarty (Tunisia), Having inherited a demoralized team after failing to qualify to the world cup, El Benzarty can be excused for not reaching the next round. However in my opinion the failure to qualify was his fault. He seemed clueless and unaware of what is going on in both the match and the post match interviews. Tunisia deserve better.

We are the Champions!

Egypt have done the unthinkable. We have won the Africa Cup of Nations for an unimaginable record third successive time. Congratulations are in order for Shehata and his men. They have proved once again that it is very unwise to count Egypt out.

The final game was a classic match up between the experience of Egypt and the youth of Ghana. Both teams were playings their record 8th final. The game itself couldn't be further from a classic. To put it in a nut shell it was by all means forgettable. Non the less most finals are tightly contested affairs as the stakes are so much higher in these types of games.

Egypt surprisingly started out with a 4-4-2 formation with Ghaly in midfield instead of the suspended Fathalla. Fathi provided additional cover for the defense, dropping deep when ever it was required. Hani Said moved up into central defense. Other wise it was the exact same team that has started the knock-out stages. Egypt controlled possession in the first half but failed to create any chances. It was ever so evident that Meteb was playing with and injury in addition to fatigue. His ever deadly direct runs all fell short of reaching the ball in any dangerous position. Egypt had no movement about them and it seemed that the effort of playing top teams like Nigeria, Cameroon and Algeria in very close proximity was taking it's toll. Frankly who would not feel tired, yet the Egyptian team was still very disciplined. They were playing a Ghana team who was not just younger but had played 120minutes less than Egypt (1 less group game and no extra time).

Ghana set up to restrict space playing 10 men behind the ball with Gyan upfront supported by Asamoah and another on the break. They looked dangerous on the counter without really threatening in the first half. Defensively they were very solid and Egypt could not find any space. They forced the Egyptian to lose the ball more often than not.

In the second half fatigue was showing even more but credit to the Egyptian players they kept composed and disciplined. Wael Gomaa was a solid rock marking Gyan who was a handful and restricted him to long range shots which were less dangerous than the alternative. Hani Said was everywhere with his covering runs to close up spaces left by Gomaa's tight marking of Gyan. Ghana growing in stature after the poor Egyptian first half came on the offensive and forced Egypt back to their own half. They missed some good chances and left some space at the back which was ultimately their undoing.

With the game heading for extra-time (or a late Ghana winner) substitute Geddo took the ball and ran at the Ghanaian defense. The next 5 seconds were magical. Passing the ball to Zidan who executed an inch perfect one-two with Geddo, who had run close to 25yards now, behind the Ghana defenders. Make no mistake Geddo had still a lot to do. "El Phenomino" of Angola 2010 and the tournament top scorer criminally controlled the ball between 3 defenders while running and critically finished off with a placed shot with his right foot in the far side netting. Game Over! Geddo had done it again and won the game and the tournament for Egypt. I will be looking forward to seeing Geddo more and more in the Egyptian league and against England at Wembley in March. The boy has a fantastic touch and an ice cold finish.

Like all great teams Egypt needed just once chance to win the game. Like all great teams they did not have to play beautifully and win on the night. Tired and exhausted they got the job done. They are definitely in my mind one of the greatest teams in Africa Cup history.

After the game I was extremely happy but continuing to read online about the game caused sadness to creep into my heart. I still can't believe Egypt is not in the World Cup. It is unimaginable to me that come June I will not be seeing these players at the World's greatest stage. Shehata has done a lot to redeem himself for his failure to qualify. I am yet to realize that I will ever forgive him for that but one thing is for certain, after Angola he has without a doubt earned my and all his critics' respect.