Footballers of Burundi would need to think as positively as George Bush does about Iraq if they hope to beat Egypt when the two countries face off in Cairo today in the first qualifying game of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (ACN). They would also have to be as completely out of it, as George Bush is about Iraq, if they think they have any chance of victory.
It’s all about history. Current title holder Egypt has gone to the ACN 20 out of 25 times; Burundi has never gone past the qualifiers. Egypt has won the ACN a record five times; obviously Burundi hasn’t. Egypt is currently the fifth best soccer nation in Africa, 24th on the globe. Burundi is respectively 43 and 156. No contest.
Since the outcome of today’s game is all but assured, of more interest is who will and who won’t be wearing the Egyptian jersey. Recalled to the squad are Ahmed “Mido Hossam and Mohamed Zidan, both of whom had falling outs with Coach Hassan Shehata. Mido will be playing his first game with the squad since his famous in-your-face sideline shouting match with Shehata in the ACN semi-final of six months ago. Zidan got the nod after turning down several prior national call-ups.
The two players are standouts. Mido has just signed with Tottenham for 12 million euros, making him the richest Egyptian footballer ever. Zidan, currently plying his trade in Germany’s Werder Bremen, has been singled out by former Manchester United great Peter Schmeikel as one of the best players ever to come out of Africa.
But both players also have an attitude. Despite the successes and the accolades, Mido’s and Zidan’s infractions were huge, certainly of a much higher degree than Turkey-based striker Ahmed Bilal and Tottenham midfielder Hossam Ghali. Shehata refuses to include either because of their public refusal to play under his command, having been left out of previous tournaments.
Not logical. The two who crossed the red line by several yards will play today while their two colleagues, whose row with their coach was far less intense, will not. Not fair.
While in Africa, Al-Ahli is another Egyptian team with a crown it does not want to part with, the continent’s Champions League. In the group stage and two games remaining before the semi-finals, Tunisia’s Sfaxien tops Group A with nine points followed by defending champions Al-Ahli with seven. Asante Kotoko of Ghana has four while Algeria’s Kabylie appear out of the reckoning with just three.
Group winners and runners-up qualify for the semis and Sfaxien and Ahli appear favorites, with their Sept. 9 Cairo clash likely to decide who tops the final standings.
There’s more at stake for Al-Ahli than the championship or even the $1 million that goes with it. The club is bidding to host the FIFA Club World Championship in December. The event is usually staged in Japan but Al-Ahli would like to have it all to themselves in Cairo as part of their birthday celebrations marking the club’s centennial anniversary.
Egypt has already hosted the men’s World Squash Open, in 1999. It’s doing it again this week. The world’s top 20 players are on hand, including Britain s Peter Nicol, one of the most successful squash players of all-time, who has chosen to mark his retirement right here.
Nine Egyptians are in the fray. The hope is that by the time we reach the final on Wednesday, at least one of them will still be standing in the celebrated 5,000-seat, open air, all-glass court at the foot of the Pyramids. The odds are that world No 1 Amr Shabana, yet another Egyptian seeking to remain the best at what he does, will be front and center.
