The Price We must Pay!

Yesterday Egypt was shocked by a 1-0 defeat to Niger in Niamey and now lay bottom of Group G with 1 point from 2 games in CAN 2012 qualifiers. Myself and a few others I have talked with were not!

It is common knowledge for anyone who knows me or has ever read this blog that I am no fan of Hassan Shehata, Egypt's coach. However, his technical inadequacy aside, he has done an unbelievable job by leading Egypt to winning 3 consecutive Nations Cups. A feat unlikely to be rivaled for sometime to come. His major let down was his inability to take us to the World Cup in virtually the easiest Group around, but for some stroke of luck he was made a hero due circumstances surrounding the match with Algeria.

Love him or hate him, it's time for Shehata to go and for Egypt to move on. Not because of his inability to change games but because he has nothing to offer the team anymore. Yes I will always stick by the notion that he was never a coach or a tactician, only a motivator who happened to be lucky enough to lead the greatest ever footballing generation in Egypt. He did win stuff but what is happening now? Where did it all go wrong?

For me it seems he has become too arrogant for his own good. This was pointed out to me by a friend of my father's after the Sierra Leone game. He was spot on. In football as a coach it's OK to be arrogant. Look at Jose Mourinho, one of the most talented and successful coaches in a generation. He is so full of himself, you either love him or hate him, nothing in between. Manuel Jose arguably Ahly's greatest coach was arrogant too. Just ask any Zamalek fan or other Egyptian coaches! The difference between these men and Shehata is that for starters they had ability and more importantly never lost touch with the real reason they win....their players!

A coach is nothing without his players and the greatest managers like Sir Alex Ferguson are the ones who can get the best out of their players and keep them motivated so they can produce what they requires from them!

Shehata lost the plot. He was arrogant enough to think that by fielding a weakened inexperienced Egypt side against Sierra Leone he would still win. He was full of himself that he did not even care to study up on the strengths of the opposition. It seemed in Cairo we were playing a team from mars that we had no idea about. He also decided to change the formation that has brought him and Egypt huge success, 3-5-2 for some sort of a 4-4-2 with two very slow central defenders and ultimately paid the price. His arrogance did not stop here. After his medical staff deemed Amr Zaki and Shikabala unfit and they were dropped form the Egypt squad for a friendly. Hassan Shehata was incensed that 2 days later they were playing for their club Zamalek in the league, so he decided to drop them for the Leone game. His staff deemed them unfit yet he was mad at them?

Against Niger he continued his new trend. He again was clueless about the opposition and again decided to go for some sort of a 4-4-2 that was unsuccessful before! Captain Hassan seems to forget that football is not chess and it is not how you place players on the field that decides if you are attacking or defending, it's what you say to the players and the roles they are given that decides that. A 4-5-1 formation on paper looks very defensive but can be enthralling if turned to a 4-3-3 going forward. A formation is nothing but a number.

His selections were a bit weird with Abdel Fadil as right back for example. Sherif is a fantastic player but he has very limited international experience. With Abdel Shafy the left back it was the same way. A great player with limited experience. He continued not to select Egypt's greatest central midfielder Hossam Ashour because I think he deems him bad luck. (The only game he played under Shehata Egypt lost 4-1 or 4-0 in friendly vs Sudan). Regardless he lost the game and failed to control or influence the match form the touch line.

People automatically blame the players and the fact we need to inject new life into the squad and so on. This may be true and I agree the players have to share a part of the blame. Shehata tried to inject younger blood into the squad but possibly too soon. I do have another theory why the old guard is not performing well enough.

I said earlier that the players mainly won games for Shehata. The players were mainly from Ahly. OK Zamalek fans will automatically start arguing about this, but come on lets be realistic. In 2006 the squad had 7 out of 11 starters from Ahly. Hadary, Gomaa, Barakat, Abdel Wahab (R.I.P) Shawky, Abu Trieka and Meteb. In 2008 and 2010 it was a similar story. The Ahly players were living a golden age under Manuel Jose. Say what you like but Jose's influence on our victory's is not to be denied! He had instilled a winning mentality in his teams that was transferred with them when they played for their country. Even Zamalek, although not winning anything had decent coaches.

Take a look at things now. Look at both Ahly and Zamalek. They are playing extremely poorly. The main reason for Egypt's drop in form...."Al Hossamayen" or the Hossam's. Hossam El Badry and Hossam Hassan more so Badry. They have turned their teams into regular Joe teams. They are no longer the giants they once were. The Ahly players seem to play without purpose and when Moudy Fadl leads the line of Ahly and Egypt you know something is wrong. Both Ahly and Zamalek players are low on confidence and form

The end result in my opinion is that it seems extremely unlikely we are to qualify for the 2012 Africa Nations Cup and due to the new qualification system for 2013 we might find it very difficult to reach it either. On the up side if Shehata doesn't know when to quit like the likes of Algeria's Sadaan did and all respectable coaches do, Franz Beckenbauer left Germany after successive World Cup finals, the second of which he won.(but then again would you quit if you were making L.E 200,000, 30,000USD per month?). The Egyptian Federation should act and let him go and start right away looking for a well known foreign coach with a free hand to lead us to Brazil 2014. Shehata has done well for Egypt but it's time to move on, after all maybe this is a blessing in disguise and we can finally see Egypt in a World Cup!

Random News

I've been away for the last month or so mainly due to Ramadan. Frankly it's difficult enough to work let alone blog as well. Hopefully now I can be more active.

I thought I'd start off with some random local and international news.

Apparently Roma's former first choice keeper Doni was the one to recommend the man who replaced him, current number one Julio Sergio, to the club. Doni is now the third choice keeper. I guess that's why they say silence is golden.

Zamalek technical director or whatever the translation of "Modeer Kora" is, Ibrahim Hassan has discovered the reason for his teams poor run of results. Black Magic. No it's not a typo, he believes a scratch in the wall of the clubs changing room revealed incantations of some sort. Yeah that makes perfect sense. The outrageous answer would be that his brother, Egyptian Legend Hossam Hassan, the manager of Zamalek sucks.

On the other hand Hossam Hassan blamed the referee and his players. He also proceeded to blame Israel, Global Warming and the Panda:P

Yesterday's Champions League game between Real Madrid and Ajax was entertaining enough with Madrid grabbing a deserved 2-0 win thanks to Higauin. What was shocking however was the status of the pitch. For those of you who don't know Real Madrid had recently captured the groundsman of Arsenal for a substantial fee. He is hailed to be one of the best around. I guess there might be a job opening at Madrid if the pitch continues to look like that. Check out Paul Burgess's story here

Egypt's Assistant coach Shawky Ghareeb admitted that there were selection mistakes following Egypt's humiliating draw with Sierra Leone in Cairo. Finally, I thought. An Egyptian owning up to his mistakes... he then followed by blaming the players lack of fitness. There you go that's better.

It was never really Shawky or Hassan Shehata's fault it was the player fitness. At the end of the season it's exhaustion, away from home it's the referee or the pitch and when all else fails blame Algeria.

Speaking of Algeria. Rabeh Sadaan resigned as coach of Algeria following a similar humiliating draw vs Tanzania at home. The man who beat Hassan Shehata to send his country to the World Cup admitted he had nothing more to offer and resigned. I bet I'd die before I see a government employee of any kind resign let alone Egypt's national coach. Then again why would he. He is getting paid more than 100 Thousand Egyptians pounds a month and does not even care enough to attend league games. He actually watches them on the tele!

How do I know? He said so. A couple of months back the National team staff refrained from adding new players to a player gathering because a lot of the games were not aired on TV....duh!

According to a friend of mine the mystery regarding AC Milan's spending spree is out in the open. Berlusconi after selling the Van Gogh "Poppy Flower" painting reportedly worth 55 million dollars (Stolen from Egypt last month) can now afford to buy players for Milan again. God Bless you Minister Farouk Hosny and your broken 50 dollar security cameras. Forza Milan!

Finally I would like to congratulate Zamalek fans on the upcoming return of Mortada

Mansour. God Bless 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.

Egypt vs Algeria: Destruction

Great teams rise for glory after getting knocked down. I can say it whole hearted that we are indeed a great team. Egypt yesterday reached their third successive CAN final after thrashing Algeria by 4 goals to nil. The victory itself was great but it was made even sweater by the way Egypt played and the manner by which Algeria behaved.

It was a virtuoso performance from the Egyptian team and it was obvious the team as a unit were very calm and collected from the start. A quality that is crucial to winning such games. Tactically we were spot on too. The Algerians were frankly a disgrace to football and sportsmanship. Belhadj and Chaouchi come to mind. The keeper should have been red carded twice. He attempted to head-but the referee after he allowed a penalty. The Algerians wanted it to be retaken for some reason? He later got his marching orders after lashing at Egypt striker Geddo. Belhadj apparently was furious after Zidan had danced around him for the second goal in addition to Mohammady being a bit showy. He attempted a nightmare double tackle on the latter and was rightly red carded for his efforts. Frankly this team was very disappointing to me. When they beat Egypt they were all over the place with comments of how they were better. Bougherra even added that Egypt should "Shut up". I think we shut him up real good. In defeat they turned into thugs. What a shame that they get to go to the World cup and not Egypt.

Egypt lined up as they did against Cameroon with the only difference being that in this game Algeria were sitting back hoping to hit Egypt on the break with long balls behind the defense. For once Shehata and Shawky Ghareeb got their tactics right. Egypt were patient in their approach always playing the ball to feet and using Mohammady on the right flank to produce great width to devastating effect. He was ever so dangerous and had the better of Belhadj for pace and skill. He also forced him to defend deeper and limited his forward runs. In the rare occasions that he did attack Egypt had Mohammday, Ahmed Hassan and usually Fathalla to close him down and stop his runs. It was obvious the manager had done his homework as Algeria's danger came from two sources Belhadj which was neutralized and Karim Ziani. Karim was ever present in the Algerian win against Cote D'Ivoire, he wanted the ball all the time and provided an outlet for his teammates then proceeded to distribute play brilliantly. Not this time. Egypt pressurized Algeria high up the pitch by two or three players. Ziani especially was always closed down all over the pitch. It was not haphazard, we pressured them at key points and always kept their defenders on their toes. Ahmed Fathi was particularly impressive doing that and in plugging the hole between the midfield and the defense. Egypt contained Algeria even before the red cad and their only hope of scoring came from set pieces and corners. Hadary had just one save to make for the hole game which shows you how solid and aware defensively Egypt was. Hadary surprisingly was very solid in the air too.

Going forward we looked ever so dangerous. We passed the ball well until openings appeared and we would always be able to find an outlet. This was due to a number of great players. Mohammady to me was exceptional not because of his runs but because of his ability to always find space for himself. His excellent wing play was wonderful and he always provided an outlet for his teammates even when Algeria knew it was coming.

In Meteb and Zidan Egypt have one of the most beautiful attacking partnerships in African football. The forward runs of Meteb are brilliant in my opinion. He does not just run, he runs with purpose and in space between defenders. He also has the ability to arch his runs to create the needed space between defenders. This gives his fellow midfielders, especially players like Ahmed Hassan and Ghali. the option to attempt the direct through ball from deep. He is also tireless, will chase every ball, hold it up and pressurize defenders. Yesterday he showed great ability when he latched onto the mistake of the Algerian defense and controlled the bouncing ball with his head then his feet to ultimately force the penalty and the red card. He did this again in the second half and that run should have been another penalty in my opinion and ended his participation in the game. This would be a huge blow for Egypt in the final. Don't believe me, just look at how poor we looked after Meteb was replaced and it took us around 15minutes to get back to the game (against 10 man Algeria) because a very important outlet in Meteb was gone.

Zidan compliments Meteb. His dribbling ability and the way he drops in the pocket between Meteb and the midfield makes all the difference. Give him the ball to feet and facing goal-wards and you are in for a treat. His dribbling ability can be rivaled only by the likes of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. He can score and create goals. He was unlucky in the first couple of games but his goal against Algeria was jaw dropping. Dribbling around Belhadj he finished the move off with a brilliant strike with his weaker left foot. I think the problem was he was pressured by the knowledge that he will always be substituted by Geddo no matter what. We all know how Shehata is superstitious. Meteb's injury sparked him to life and he knew he wouldn't be going off this time around.

Ahmed Hassan made up for his tense performance in Sudan by putting on a professional performance. He might not have been in the thick of the action but he was always ever present for his teammates asking for the ball and distributing it accurately he also did a great job on controlling Belhadj. There is also the phenomena of the tournament. Mohamed Nagy GEDDO whose sublime finishing could make him possibly the first tournament top scorer off the bench.

Overall Egypt were perfect. We have proved that we are indeed the best team in Africa. It remains to be seen how Egypt will adapt with out Meteb against a very fast Ghana side. However, win or lose this Egyptian team will forever be remembered as one of the best teams ever to play in the great continent. They have forever earned my respect and so has their coach. Say what you like about Shehata but at the end of the day he must be doing something right. Hats off to him and his brilliant team, they will always be the Champions of Africa in my book!

Clash of the Titans

It's here again. Yes another bloody match against Algeria. I think I'm probably one of the few people who did not take it personally when Algeria beat us to go to the World Cup. Don't get me wrong I was fuming that we lost but frankly throughout the qualification they were better as a team. I still think our players are better, regardless of the fact that most of them play locally.

History aside tonight is a very important game for Egypt and Algeria alike. Obviously it's importance is primarily because it's the Africa Cup Of Nations Semi-Final. The biggest competition in the continent. Algeria need to prove that they deserve to be in the World Cup and that their qualification was due to their strength and not due to Egypt gifting them a place in South Africa. A victory tonight will prove once and for all that they are indeed better than the Pharaohs and that the excuses made up by Shehata and co after the defeat in Sudan are what they really are, crap. Algeria will be in their first final (and semi-final) in 20 years, ever since their last win and only win of the cup on home soil in 1990. It will be their third final ever, the other being in 1980. So don't believe what you hear from their players and their coach that they are not under any pressure. They are and under a lot of it. They have a chance to make history and rival their greatest generation of the 80's.

On the other side there is Egypt. A wounded giant. After failing to qualify for the World Cup and the national disappointment that came with it no one, not even their coach himself gave them a chance of retaining their African crown a record third successive time. With players like Trieka, Barakat, Mido and Zaki not in the squad it seemed hopeless. (Shehata started to act confident only after his win against Nigeria defending his team selections and claiming that picking the team had to do with how religious a player was, strangely he forgot that football is about talent and talented players win games, not prayers.) However after the cracking opener against Nigeria and coming from a goal down to destroy the Super Eagles an aura of optimism started to appear. The Egyptians looked like champions and finished their group with a 100% record dispatching both Benin and Mozambique with professionalism worthy of Champions. Then came the real test against the Lions of Cameroon. Egypt capitalized on their opponents mistakes and put them to the sword again coming from a goal down. I've been very critical of our performances but overall we got the job done. Lead by the ever vibrant Ahmed Hassan, who is truly a joy to watch, Egypt are a strong unit. Credit to Shehata for bringing his team together and to his players for showing outstanding determination. Yes Shehata is lucky but if he can pull it off against Algeria (even if he looses the final) it would be a great feat and would earn him respect from everyone, friends and foes, myself included.

Egypt should take this as just another game, a stepping stone to a record third successive title. A chance to redeem their failure to qualify to South Africa. The cherry on top is that they get to do it against the team that knocked them out, Algeria. It is good to feel some purpose in a game but it should not be about revenge and hate. It should be about winning. Increased emotions will tire players easier and make them much more susceptible to lapses in concentration. Egypt should play their own game, keep the ball on the ground and not look to rush things and for gods sake no long balls.

Good teams take their chances, good teams ride their luck and good teams come back after going behind, but only great teams rise up for glory after getting knocked down.

Will we ever Go to the World Cup?

The past two days were very sad for me. It wasn't your straight forward sad, and yes I'm talking about football. For years now Football games have had the ability to lift and sink my mood, just ask my wife:)

Yesterday I saw an Egyptian side (who had earlier crushed the dreams of millions by failing to qualify to the World Cup from the easiest group in the continent) take on a star studded Nigerian side. Nigeria is not that of old and the golden team of Amokachi, Yakini and Finidi seems a distant memory. However, they are back to the world cup after being seemingly dead and buried in the qualification (albeit Tunisia gifting them qualification). Nigeria by all means were a side on the up and having the likes of Yakubu (Everton), Obasi (Hoffenhiem), Yobo (Everton), Mikel (Chelsea) in their squad it would seem they were favorites against Egypt.

After our disappointing performance all through qualification I seriously wanted to get rid of Hassan Shehata and what better way to do it than by being knocked out of the first round in CAN 2010. I was going to support every single team playing against Egypt, cause frankly I don't bloody care about winning another African Cup, I was looking for the future and I don't think Shehata will ever get us there. As I sat down to watch the game I thought GO Egypt! I am far too fond of many of the Egyptian players not least of which are Meteb, Zidan and Ahmed Hassan to support Nigeria and frankly on their day Egypt's most gifted generation can beat anyone. I didn't expect this however.

Egypt put up a scintillating display lead by the brilliant Ahmed Hassan. He is a true model professional that all players in Egypt could learn from. He is playing his 8th African Cup having won three already in 98, 06, and 08. From a goal down early on we hit back by goals from Meteb, Hassan and Geddo (no I didn't make him up). Egypt dominated the Super Eagles especially in the second half and if we had continued to play for 2 days Nigeria would not have scored. Everything was right yesterday. It was the first time in a tournament under Shehata that we came back from a goal down to win (his second time in all competitions, first was against DR Congo in Cairo, in first phase of qualifications). We played better in the second half than the first, we were more physically fit than the Nigerians, we didn't score any penalties and as for the deflection, I say you make your own luck when it comes to scoring goals. Shehata did everything right, off course his clueless Nigerian counterpart helped, but still Egypt were convincing. His team showed experience and high morals and again played for him and for each other. After seeing the game I'm not sue if we will win the cup but I think we can easily got to the semis. A day earlier I had seen Malawi rip Algeria to shreds and after Egypts result I was shocked and saddened. How the hell didn't we reach the world cup?

Watching this cup I still can't believe we are not going to South Africa. We look much better than a lot of the teams going after the first round of games. I know this is not something to go by as I recall Cameroon in 1990 getting knocked out of the first round in the competition then going on to take the world by storm in Italia 90. However, if you look at the fact that we have been dominating the competition for 4 years now and that a lot of the big teams are very eager to win this years competition, none more so than Cote D'Ivoire. The current generation of Elephants have never won the African Cup and can't wait to do so. In the two previous editions their dreams have shattered after coming up against one team, Egypt. Why didn't we qualify then?

Honestly I have no idea why we could not ease through qualification from an easy group but I have some ideas that may have contributed. For starters I think how the group looked on paper and the fact we were African Champs put the fans, the players and the coaching staff at ease. They were heading for a rude awakening after the 1-1 draw with Zambia in Cairo. Sadly no one saw the warning bells and we managed to shift momentum towards Algeria after slumping to a 3-1 defeat there. Egypt rallied up till the first game in Cairo. I talked about the footballing reasons for not qualifying (The Failure)Some other factors came into play leading up to the first game and the decider in Sudan that contributed to our failure.

The media was crazy. They proceeded to portray Algeria as the devil and this for me added extra pressure on the players. Playing against an enemy is very different from playing against an opponent. You won't take risks and will play it safe , after all you are defending your countries honor and not competing in a sport. The anger also takes up some of your energy and you get more lapses in concentration. Where the hell did the spirit of sport disappear to? It seemed we were in a war and not a football game. After the first game people and the media celebrated as if we had already qualified, there was one more game left.

The choice of venue for the final game from the Egyptian Federation and Hassan Shehata was idiotic. We picked Sudan. It is of common knowledge that pitches in Sudan are very poor and that rarely have Egyptians teams gone there and won. The Egypt team is very skilled and dominate opposition by using a slick passing game. We need a good pitch, yet we chose a really poor one. We refused to pick Libya cause they would support Algeria although there are around 1.5million Egyptians living there? We did not pick South Africa although they have great pitches and we had already played there months before. Most of the fans that went there were not true footballing fans and a lot of politicians and artists decided to go in order to boost their own self image. The atmosphere when it came to Egypt was bleak. We will never qualify to a world cup unless we stop turning sport into war and instead of talking about a football game we blamed the loss on events after the game?

Last but not least was the caliber of coaching. Yes I don't like Shehata and at the end of the day you can be unlucky at one game were it all matters. Just ask Guus Hiddink, one of the most brilliant coaches in the world did not qualify to the world cup with Russia. However, before you start going on about how this is true and how it could happen to anyone think a bit. Egypt to Africa is not what Russia is to Europe. Egypt is like Spain or Germany in Europe. We are the "it" team in the continent. Shehata had luck on him for most games in qualification but not when it most mattered. Shehata's results speak for themselves he has done very good. But he has failed twice when it really mattered. First was in 2005 when he came on as coach for the first time mid qualification and we had to beat Cote D'Ivoire away to have any chance of going to the world cup. He lost that game but that wasn't the problem. He never tried to win, he was scared and couldn't or wouldn't turn around the game. Maybe he was inexperienced then but the second time he wasn't. He has failed when he has had to up his game to the next level. He has proven time and again that he can't read the big games and can't take control of matches if his players are not in top form. He can't turn things around. Against Nigeria the stakes were not high, you have 3 strikes so the pressure is lower. In the two African Cups we were never favorites and the expectations were low. When we have high expectations and the pressure is on us and not on the opposition we fail. This is also a problem with the players, it it not only the coaches fault but it is his job to help them cope. He has had it easy as half of his players already had the know how of dealing with pressure. Jose's Ahly were favorites for five years in every game they played locally and in Africa. Most of the time we delivered.

I hope that in my life time I get to see Egypt once again in the World Cup. I'm not very optimistic though as the way we go about it is not encouraging. We need a highly technical coach . Shehata in all honestly has done good but we need someone to take us to the next level. This person should be backed up by a system that views football as a sport and not as a holy calling. A system that analyzes why we fail and doe not congratulate failure. We also need more professional players that deal with pressure day in and day out. There should be some sort of law that allows players to go abroad and learn. The golden team of Egypt has not reached the world cup, may the next golden team take us there!

Egypt vs Algeria: The Failure

Last Wednesday was a very sad day for Egyptian football. Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 in the play-off game to reach the World Cup for the third time. Egypt's best footballing generation ever didn't. I was almost reduced to tears after the game. I am after all a fan. Football rarely has this impact on me. It can always change my mood for sure but never frustrate me as much. I recall my eyes watering twice after a football game. In 1990 after England knocked us out of the World Cup with a Mark Wright header and when AC Milan lost the Champions League (no, not in Istanbul) against Ajax to a Patrik Kluivert goal in the 88th minute. Yeah I don't know why I cried either. My frustration came from the fact that after all this I was right. Never have I wished more to be wrong and for Mr. Shehata to prove he is the mastermind tactician he so blatantly is not. You can blame who you want for our failure to qualify, Algerians, players, referee or luck. I blame Hassan Shehata.

Where to begin? His failure was not in mismanaging this final play-off match. It was throughout the qualifications. Egypt has played the same game of football for the entire campaign. We played poorly and below our potential in all 7 games. If you bring your memory back to the Zambia game in Cairo, where it all began. We had no midfield couldn't control the game, couldn't create chances and Zambia ripped us to shreds on the counter attack. They got a deserved equalizer and if it was not for some luck they would have won. (My father told me then that it was never going to happen, should have listened). We followed this up by a humiliating defeat to Algeria. We played a decent first half with Trieka and Zidan combining perfectly but without any real menace or chance creation. After going down by a goal it all went bad. Mr. Shehata is no tactician, he panics and eveything goes to hell. He couldn't contorl Algeria and hit them on the break when it was 0-0 and he couldn't attack to get a draw after going a goal down. In trying to attack he left us wide open at the back and we got hit by 2 more goals. This was a turning point in the qualification. Algeria took momentum and self belief from that game and never looked back(they had started with a poor 0-0 draw away to Rwanda). There was a break after this from the qualification and Egypt went to the Confederations Cup.

Egypt faced Brazil then Italy and we managed an incredible showing against Brazil and beat Wold Champions Italy. Shehata inadvertently had discovered a gold mine. Injuries to all of his top strikers forced him to play a 3-6-1 formation with Zidan as a lone striker supported by Trieka form the midfield with three holding midfielders that included Hassan, Shawky, Homos or Hosny to control the game. This worked perfectly it gave a lot of freedom to the wing backs Mowaad and Fathi (Mohamady)to bomb forward, with Trieka free to roam as he pleases in midfield and the pace of Zidan. We looked scary in attack and solid defensively. Egypt's holding midfielders were not just grunts. They could pass and shoot the ball adding extra support in attack when needed (Shawky and Homos both scored in this tournament) It might have not sounded pretty but it was perfect. Only when Mr. Shehata decided to change this against the U.S.A were we convincingly beaten. If you recall we played the same game we had continued to play afterwards and versus Zambia and Algeria previously. Drained after playing both Italy and Brazil Shehata decided to play with just 2 holding midfielders and opted for 2 strikers plus Trieka. We lost control of the game and couldn't even defend a theoretical 2 goal advantage and lost 3-0 without testing Tim Howard once!Live and learn I thought, but it seemed Shehata had the memory of a gold fish.

In Cairo we beat an unlucky Rwanda (yes, unlucky. take a look at the game) 3-0 by sheer determination. Again it was haphazard and thanks to the referee we managed to score a very late penalty and an injury time goal. Due to the results of Algeria we had to win all our remaining games and then some.We went to Rwanda next with all of our top choice strikers out and Zidan was banned by our brilliant Coach because he decided to stay with his club and not show up for a firendly against Guniea that put into highlight all of our flaws both in attack and defense. It ended 3-3, Guniea finished bottom of their qualification group. I can't recall a single chance we created against Rwanda. We played poorly and luck was on our side and Ahmed Hassan scored after a skirmish in the penalty area. I said then that our midfield was poor and we would live to regret goinng a goal up and wasting time in my article When the Going gets Tough. We all regret it now!

Against Zambia it was even worse. Same game plan. We couldn't go forward and left ourselves wide open at the back and would have lost convincingly if not for Hadary. We won with our only shot on goal (more info in Zambia 0 Hadary 1). Other results meant Egypt needed to beat Algeria by 2 goals to force a play-off. After scoring an early goal we again played the same game we have been playing. No midfield, no chance creation and very poor overall. Hadary again kept us in it and Meteb scored a goal at the death to keep us in it. Luck was on our side one last time (The Aftermath for more details regarding the game)

Then came the final game. All of Egypt was hopeful. We had made a tremendous comeback. Morale in the Algeria camp has to be low. Guess what? Hassan Shehata again played the same game. It was his third time playing Algeria and it seemed he had learned nothing. He tinkered with his team again. A team he has been coaching for 4 years now. I would have understood if he started with the same formation as the last game, although I would prefer Fathi on the flanks for protection. But no way, this is Shehata. He decided to go with a new midfield combo. Not in any game since he took charge of Egypt did he ever play Fathi and Hassan as the only holding midfielders together and again he LOST THE MIDFIELD! Where was Homos? The player who started the last game never even played this one!. Where was Shehata's 3-6-1, his masterpiece? Surly he could control Algeria with it.

He opted to bench Zidan for some reason although this was to be an open game (prior to Egypt conceding). There was going to be space and Zidan's pace and dribbling ability would have been lethal. The only time he got the ball in a good position he created something out of nothing and Meteb missed a glorious chance. We proceeded to play the same game. Random play, no tactics and long balls. If he wanted to play long balls then what was the point of passing six passes before hitting a long ball? Wasting time while we were down? and if Shehata wanted to play the long ball strategy then why not get Mido to help you out. He is a real threat in the air!

Hadary also wasted 25minutes by hitting the ball straight to the oppositions keeper! What the hell was that about? It took our manager that long to notice that this is idiotic. We became much more dangerous as soon as we passed the ball around. We conceded against the run of play at the end of the half.

The second half Shehata had to do something. He decided to play Zidan for Zaki and Hosny for Fathi? As we have come to expect a straight swap.. Taking Zaki off was strange as although I'm a fan of Meteb it would be a no brainer to take him off as he hasn't played a full 90minutes for almost a year. Changing players in the exact same position. we wasted 2 changes and we did not become more dominant. The coach of Algeria tried to help us out by starting to defend too deep and taking off one of his forwards. Shehata's luck had truly run out. His changes didn't work! He even decided to change things just as we started playing better. Hani Said pushed into the midfield for support and his impact was very noticeable. The former Bari man originally plays in midfield and caused a bit of havoc with his passing and runs. Egypt missed a glorious chance after Hany had put Trieka through and Hosny missing the follow up with the goal at his mercy. We also managed one or two decent free-kicks. Shehata took off Saka for Eid AbdelMalek whose sole purpose was to pass the ball to Mohamady for the cross. Hani went back to defense. Nothing had changed from the first game. We again failed to capitalize on their 2 central defenders clearing to the edge of their own box. No one was there for the shot. Why was Zidan taking corners. He crossed 4 identical corners in the same area were not a single Egyptian player was there. Apparently he never took corners before! Why wasn't Moawad put into play. It was obvious he had the upper hand over Algeria's right back. The list goes on. We continued to look poor up to the final whistle. Egypt's dream was over.

My point here is that it was not the final game that knocked us out. We were poor in all our games and there is an old saying in football that throughout a season decisions even themselves out. Meaning; effects of the calls and breaks for and against a team cancel one another at the end. The same goes with luck we were lucky to reach a play-off game and we were unlucky to lose it. It is probably the most game we had clear cut chances in. There should be no pats on the back for Hassan Shehata though. He failed to qualify from the easiest qualification group in Africa. His 2nd seed Zambia didn't make it through the group stage in last years CAN 2008. Algeria hadn't even qualified for the last 2 Nations Cup. I remember my friends and I celebrated when we learned of the draw! Egypt lead by Shehata gifted qualification to Algeria. It was easy, a win against Zambia, one more goal against Rwanda and we would have been there. His tentative approach and inability to learn from games cost us qualification. Supporters of Shehata will tell you he won two CAN in 2006 and 2008. I tell them bravo. He must have done something right at some point.

In 2006 it was on home soil and in a World Cup year with a lot of the top teams focused on the world cup. Shehata also had 7 starters from Ahly who at the time was the most dominant force in African Club football. Not only that, Ahly was playing fantastic football as well. Hadary, Gomaa, AbdelWahab (R.I.P) Barakat, Shawky, Trieka and Meteb. In 2008 Egypt got a lot of momentum after the 4-2 win versus Cameroon and it is much easier to keep momentum when you are in a tournament. We played some good football but had some luck on our side too. We have fantastic players and we were underdogs in a lot of the games and that always works in our favor. Most of all there was no pressure. Shehata can't deal with pressure or instill the confidence required for such crucial matches. Shehata should resign or get sacked.

He will stay till Angola in 2010 I'm sure and I'm glad, as afterwards he will be sacked and we can get a coach to lead us to glory. No Egyptian coach will take us to the world cup in the foreseeable future. We have some bright lights like Tarek El Ashry but it is too early for him. The Egypt job should be given to one man and one man only. Manuel Jose. He has enough experience and rapport with all football fans in the country. He would be untouchable and if left to work in peace we will be there in 2014.

Road To South Africa 2010: Egypt vs Algeria, The Aftermath

Prior to the game 38% of voters on the Poll thought we would directly qualify and another 38% thought we would force a play-off game. 24% thought that Algeria would go through, they were wrong. Egypt has indeed forced a final play-off game versus Algeria for one last time. I had earlier predicted in my article Road To South Africa that Algeria were favorites to qualify, I stand by that but I'm ecstatic Egypt were able to force one final game. I also mentioned that for Egypt to qualify they had to do it in Cairo, but after yesterdays extraordinary circumstances I'm inclined to take a different perspective.

The game was a very tense affair for players and spectators a like. However, after the dream start we had with a Zaki goal in the 2nd minute I thought we would put Algeria to the sword, I was wrong. I'm not sure what happened after this goal as it seemed to me that as a team Egypt took it's foot off the paddle a couple of minutes later, maybe because they realized they had to score just 1 more goal in the remaining 90minutes or possibly a bit of relief set in. Regardless this helped Algeria regain it's composure and like true professionals they started to get more and more into the game. Their midfield lead by Zaini dominated the game and it seemed Egypt could only regain possession by fouling the opposition. Egypt were restricted to long balls and direct play for the rest of the first half.

Algeria could have equalized at the final breath of the first half if not for Hadary. The veteran again proved that he is with out a doubt one of the most composed and talented keepers in the current game. He was arguably Egypt's best player and time and again delivered to keep us in the game with a number of fantastic saves. Abdel Zaher El Sakka was another excellent performer and his return to the squad is most certainly welcome one. He was calm and collected throughout the game and this proved invaluable as his counterpart Hani Said was a nervous wreck at some parts. Nerves seemed to have taken the better of the Egyptian team as they were unable to put on any serious number of passes to open up the opposition and again in the second half it seemed Algeria were dominating the midfield even more and were truly scary on the break. At a point it seemed that Algeria were much better footballers, freely dribbling past one or two players from Egypt. I knew otherwise and I could only attribute this to that Egypt were tense and wanted the ball in the other side of the field ASAP.

Our starting eleven, I thought were the best for this game and for once me and Shehata agreed on something. Tactically we left a lot to be desired and there is nothing that rubs me the wrong way more than a coach that has no impact on the game in the 2nd half. Captain Hassan did nothing to try and regain the midfield, he even weakened it by taking off Homos and adding Brakat. Ok Homos was not particularly impressive, but who was? Trieka was a ghost, he was not looking for the ball as much as he usually does and nothing was working for him. I'm thinking the ball he hit the post with that eventually lead to the goal hampered his confidence. Chance creation was left to Zidan. The striker dropped into our own half to get the ball (Trieka's job) leading to a lack of attacking presence inside and around the box. Zidan should have been getting the ball closer to the box by Trieka. The few times he got it there he was ever so dangerous. Barakat was lost for the first 15minutes he came on, and neither he nor Shehata new where he was supposed to play. Egypt changed formation a number of times throughout, credit to Shehata trying to unsettle the opposition, but at points it seemed too random and haphazard.

Tactical complaints aside, it was always going to be difficult for Egypt with Algeria employing 11 players behind the ball and in fairness we were not as bad as I initially thought during the game. Every time we manged to break down their tough midfield we looked extremely dangerous and in my opinion their defense is not as strong as they set themselves to be. They only look strong because of their midfielders protecting them. The game would have been a lot easier if Mohamady showed more ability to cross the ball when getting into really good positions and/or if we were better placed to take long shots off his cleared crosses. To Mr. Shehata's credit the fighting spirit on the pitch was very evident. Egypt's players fought for each other and for their coach. Not once did you see a player waving or arguing with his fellow teammates, when frankly some deserved it. Egypt were a disciplined team.

Algeria dropped deeper towards the end of the game and Egypt looked more and more dangerous, however as injury time drew closer I had almost lost hope. Egypt are known for a lot of things, injury time winners was not one of them. If this were an Ahly game I would have had faith till the last breath. Ahly does this sort of thing regularly, you need to look no further than last season's last game. It is something inherit in Ahly's footballing culture, it is not in Egypt's. So you can guess my shock and awe when Emad Meteb (Moteb or Meteab) rose to head the ball clinically into the back of the net at almost the final kick of the game. I was ecstatic, all of Egypt was. I was even happier the goal scorer was Meteb.

The Predator, as my father and I like to call him, has been recovering from a six month lay-off and was subject to huge ridicule at the last CAN 2008 in Ghana. Meteb in my opinion is the best striker in Egypt's current generation. Ever since the first time I saw him in the U-20 African Nations Cup under Shehata were he finished top scorer he seemed special. He is miles ahead of our other strikers, with all due respect to Zaki, Zidan and Mido (the thin one). He might not have the dribbling skills of Zidan, the brute force of Zaki or the presence of Mido but he is much more. He has all these abilities combined. The boy can shoot with both legs and is lethal in front of goal. He works tirelessly for his team and is never selfish. He can take on defenders or hold them off. He can take direct free-kicks and head the ball too. People tend to forget that he was pivotal to our CAN 2006 win in Egypt with 3 goals. In 2008 his work rate and positioning opened up chances for the likes of Trieka, Zidan and Zaki. When Manuel Jose's Ahly were dominating local and African football he was the pivot in front of Barakat and Trieka. He would have never scored a more important goal in his career than that against Algeria and I'm glad he will get his over due credit.

Algeria will be distraught, they were 30 seconds away from the World Cup in South Africa. They have suffered yet another set back. 2 month ago it seemed unlikely Egypt could fathom 2 back to back away wins and even if we had done that Algeria were surely going to thrash Rwanda and make it impossible for Egypt to beat the goal difference, but here we are. Egypt has proved a worthy contender and in any other year 4 wins and a draw would have sent us to the World Cup with flying colors and if the head to head rule was applied we would not be playing a decider. Egypt has now got the momentum and hopefully top players like Trieka and Ahmed Hassan will rise to the occasion now that some of the pressure has been lifted. If Algeria can lift themselves after the heart break to put on a performance against Egypt next Wednesday it will be very interesting. Otherwise Shehata's men will be there to finish off the job they started in Cairo.

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

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