CAIRO: Hamburg coach Huub Stevens asked Mohamed Zidan to skip the African Cup of Nations but the Egypt striker insists he wants to play in Ghana 2008. The Dutch manager hopes to persuade Zidan to stay in Germany during the tournament that would make him unavailable for more than a month. The coach is hoping …

CAIRO: Egypt have claimed the Military World Games football gold medal after defeating Cameroon 2-0 in Hyderabad on Saturday. Ahly striker Osama Hosni opened the scoring as early as the third minute with a powerful header after being set-up by Abdullah Ragab s cross from the left flank. Abdul-Hamid Bassiouni came off the bench to …

CAIRO: Mido should be ready to take part in Middlesbrough s Premiership clash against Chelsea on Saturday after recovering from a hamstring injury, coach Gareth Southgate said. Mido has trained this week and provided there is no reaction he should be ready for Saturday, Southgate told the club s official website. The 24-year-old striker initially …

CAIRO: The Military Academy Stadium is likely to host the CAF Champions League final second-leg between Al Ahly and Etoile Sahel, according to a source from the Egyptian club. The Egyptian Higher Council for Sports (HCS) turned down Al Ahly s request to play the crunch encounter at Cairo Stadium because the 74,000-seated building will …

CAIRO: Zamalek assistant coach Ayman Mansour denied on Wednesday reports saying that skipper Hazem Emam has been handed a LE 10,000 fine for allegedly offending a teammate. Egyptian daily Al-Messa claimed that Emam accused Wissem El-Abdi of deliberately collecting yellow cards so as not to play for Zamalek. The Tunisian defender was even handed a …

CAIRO: Egyptian playmaker Mohamed Abou Treika has been included in a list of 55 nominees from 31 countries issued by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) for the World s Most Popular Football Player in 2007. The poll was posted on the IFFHS official website Thursday morning and the voting will be …

CAIRO: Egyptian Football Association Chairman Samir Zaher rejected reports claiming that Egypt Manager Hassan Shehata might be sacked before the African Cup of Nations. These are false reports, Zaher told FilGoal.com on Tuesday. All the members of the coaching staff are remaining until, at least, the end of their contract in February. It would be …

CAIRO: Ismaili have contacted the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) in order to terminate Walid Abdul-Latif’s and Mohamed Abdul-Wahed s contracts following their latest troubles. The Dervishes claim that Abdul-Latif hasn t appeared regularly in training sessions since joining in last summer and so he missed all his team s matches since. This is while President …

CAIRO: Egypt produced a 7-0 drubbing of Ireland to claim their third successive win in the Military World Games in India. A hat-trick from Al-Gaish midfielder Mamdouh Abdul-Hai in addition to goals from Ahmed Eid, Shikabala, Abdul-Hamid Bassiouni and Mohsen Hendawi gave the Pharaohs the huge win. Egypt finished the first round on top of …

CAIRO: Egypt achieved both goals planned during the African qualifications, reaching Ghana 2008 and pumping new blood into the team, according to assistant coach Shawki Gharib. The African champions needed a 78th-minute goal from substitute Mohamed Fadl to have some breathing space against Botswana in Cairo on Saturday. Despite Egypt s qualification as Group B …

CAIRO: Amr Zaki says he feels insulted by Ayman Mansour after the Zamalek assistant coach described the striker’s announcement of retirement as “silly . Following Zamalek s 1-1 draw with Suez Cement in the Egyptian League, Zaki hit out at his teammates and revealed his intention to hang up his boots due to the team …

CAIRO: Veteran striker Hossam Hassan is unhappy with Ittihad s intention to punish him for missing training, saying that someone of his stature shouldn’t be treated like that. Ittihad football director Sayed Karawan said that Hassan is awaiting sanction for his conduct but the 41-year-old hitman is refusing the prospect of him being punished. My …

CAIRO: Mohamed Abou-Treika has been declared fit to take part in Egypt s African Cup of Nations qualifier against Botswana on Saturday, the national team s trainer Hamada Sedki said. It was feared the Al Ahly playmaker would miss the decider after picking up an injury during his team s 1-0 CAF Champions League victory …

CAIRO: Ismaili defender Sayed Moawad said that he is on the verge of completing a move to Sudanese club Al-Merrikh in January. The Egypt full-back confirmed that a LE 4 million offer was accepted by Ismaili and that he is expected to join in the winter break. I accepted the offer and the two clubs …

CAIRO: Amr Zaki has apologized to Zamalek board after making outspoken comments against his teammates following the team s disappointing 1-1 Egyptian League draw with bottom side Suez Cement. I was furious when I said these comments, I couldn t control my temper. I was subjected to so much psychological pressure, the prolific striker told …

CAIRO: Al-Wehdat coach Ismail Youssef said that the Jordanian club s reaction to his move to Zamalek was the only obstacle that prevented a return to his former club. Youssef has been offered an assistant coach role at the Cairo club, which he apparently accepted, but Wehdat refused to let go their head coach. Zamalek …

CAIRO: Etoile Sahel manager Bertrand Marchand is confident of his side s ability to end Al Ahly s African ascendancy when the two sides meet in the final of the Champions League. Al Ahly are on course to win an unprecedented third straight title, one of which was at the expense of the Tunisian side …

CAIRO: Egypt captain Ahmed Hassan said on Tuesday that he is sure that his Anderlecht side will qualify from their tough UEFA Cup group. Anderlecht were drawn alongside Hapoel Tel Aviv, Getafe, AaB Aalborg of Denmark and Premiership side Tottenham, for which Egyptian Hossam Ghaly plays, in Group G of the competition. All of the …

CAIRO: Anderlecht playmaker Ahmed Hassan is the highest paid player in the Belgian league along with teammate Jan Polak, according to a sport magazine in Brussels. The Egypt midfielder is joined with the Czech Republic international on top of the salary list as both players reportedly earn 700,000 euros a year. Standard Liege s American …

CAIRO: Zamalek s Mohamed Abdel Monsef and Alaa Abdel Ghani will hold contract talks with assistant coach Ayman Mansour during the Egyptian League break. We will hold negotiations with them especially that their contracts expire at the end of the season, Mansour told FilGoal.com. The former Zamalek legend revealed that he will try to convince …

CAIRO: Al Ahly midfielder Mohamed Barakat has been ruled out of Egypt s decider against Botswana next Saturday because of an injury. Al Ahly s medical staff sent his medical record confirming the player’s need to rest. We have received another report concerning Mohamed Abou Treika who suffers from some pains in his knee, Egypt …

CAIRO: Ismaili have secured a morale-boosting 1-0 home victory over Nigeria s Kwara United in the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday. The Dervishes managed to end a four-match winless streak in all competitions, thanks to Youssef Gamal s strike midway through the first-half. He chested down Mohamed Hommos superb long ball inside the area before …

CAIRO: Al Ahly coach Manuel Jose is relieved to see his side reach the African Champions League final for the third straight year after beating Ittihad of Libya 1-0 in the semi-final second leg on Sunday. It was a tense game, we were under pressure to win because the first leg ended 0-0 and we …

CAIRO: Harras Al-Hodoud board have rejected the resignation of manager Tarek Al-Ashri and confirmed that he will be in charge until the end of the season. Al-Ashri handed in his resignation after the 1-1 home draw with a 10-man Ghazl Mahalla side last week, but the Al Hodoud board gave him their vote of confidence. …

The Egyptian FA rejected Zamalek s request to amplify the suspension of striker Amr Zaki to the international level. The Cairo club imposed a one-month ban on the 24-year-old on Saturday, and the Zamalek board was hoping to prevent him from representing Egypt throughout his ban period. However, EFA president Samir Zaher dismissed the possibility …

Ismaili announced that Ismail Hefni will take charge of the team on a temporary basis, following the sacking of former coach Taha Basri on Monday. Former star Hefni will act as the team s caretaker coach until the Dervishes board decides on the new manager. Current Yemen coach and ex-manager Mohsen Saleh has been short …

CAIRO: Zamalek assistant coach Ayman Mansour said the club intends to punish defender Wissem El-Abdi for being needlessly dismissed in the disappointing 1-1 draw with Suez Cement. The Tunisian defender was handed a straight red card in the first-half after hitting Mohamed Al-Saghir s chest with his boot in an off-ball challenge. The player s …

CAIRO: Al-Gaish got through to the second round of the Arab Champions League (ACL) after beating their Lebanese guests Al-Ansar 2-1 in Cairo on Monday. Anwar Messaoud opened the scoring for the hosts in the 17th minute but Brazilian Edilson cancelled the lead just seconds before the break. Ghanaian striker Ernest Papa Arko had the …

CAIRO: Ismaili sacked manager Taha Basri early on Tuesday after the 4-4 home draw with Ittihad Alexandria. The board of directors decided to sack both Basri and football director Sayed Abdel Razeq in an urgent meeting following the game, according to Ismaili Vice Chairman Ibrahim Ashour. Ismaili President Yehia Al-Koumi is in Saudi Arabia and …

CAIRO: Zamalek skipper Hazem Emam has been recalled by manager Ruud Krol to the squad that will face Suez Cement in the Egyptian League on Tuesday. Emam has been out of action since the Whites opening day defeat against Ismaili, after which the talented playmaker threatened to quit, following angry boos by his own club …