CAIRO: Former Ahly captain Shadi Mohamed said he will sign for Ittihad on a free transfer on Tuesday after rejecting offers from abroad. The 32-year-old defender, who has been released by Ahly last month, is looking to end his career in Alexandria. I decided to join Ittihad, Shadi told FilGoal.com, adding that he is expecting …

PRETORIA: South African police on Monday denounced media reports that the Egyptian Confederations Cup team had been robbed of cash by prostitutes they had invited to their hotel room. There were no prostitutes. We don t know where this information came from. We are doing an internal investigation to find out who provided media with …

CAIRO: Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp reiterated that Egypt forward Mohamed Zidan wanted to stay at Signal Iduna Park. Zidan put in an incredible performance in the Pharaohs FIFA Confederations Cup opening game against Brazil, having hit a memorable brace. Afterwards, media reports suggested that several clubs made overtures to the 27-year-old, including Blackburn Rovers. …

CAIRO: Ibrahim Saied will not be able to join any club until he pays Ismaili LE1 million, the club s chairman Nasr Aboul-Hassan said on Sunday. He can t play for any club now. He has to pay us LE1 million, Aboul-Hassan told FilGoal.com. When Saied terminated his contract with Ismaili the Egyptian Football Association …

CAIRO: Zamalek have completed the signing of midfielder Hassan Mostafa on a free transfer, the Cairo club said on Sunday. The 30-year-old, who was released by Ahly last week, penned a two-year deal after passing a medical at Zamalek. Mostafa is looking to revive his career after two disappointing seasons with Ahly, where he struggled …

CAIRO: Egyptian Premier League runners-up Ismaili signed Argentinean duo Fernando Marquez and German Weiner, the club announced on Sunday. Striker Marquez and talented attacking midfielder Weiner, who left Argentinean second-division side Union de Santa Fe, penned three-year deals with the Dervishes. We believe Marquez and Weiner will be good additions to our squad, Ismaili chairman …

CAIRO: Egyptian champions Ahly arrived in Germany on Sunday to begin their pre-season training camp. Versatile midfielder Ahmed Fathi missed the trip as he is still nursing a knee injury he sustained during Egypt s Confederations Cup campaign. He will link up with his teammates on Wednesday, Ahly said on their official website. Veteran midfielder …

JOHANNESBURG: Brazil defended their Confederations Cup title on Sunday with a crushing come-from-behind 3-2 victory to inflict a cruel loss on tenacious underdogs the United States. The five-time world champions looked out for the count after Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan put the Americans two up at half-time but they bounced back with a Luis …

CAIRO: Gamal Hamza was the only absentee as Bundesliga club Mainz kicked-off their preparations for the new season, German papers reported on Sunday. Some 7,000 supporters gathered at the team s training center on the first day of the preseason camp, where three new players were officially presented. Filip Trojan, Heinz Muller und Eugen Polanski …

CAIRO: Zamalek striker Amr Zaki is set to return to his club s training on Monday after recovering from a thigh injury he picked up three weeks ago. Zaki has now fully recovered after he completed a successful rehabilitation program, Zamalek chief physician Mostafa Al-Monayeri told the club s official website. [Zaki] will gradually return …

CAIRO: Essam Al-Hadari confirmed that he restored ties with Ahly s officials, but denied concluding an agreement to join the Cairo club this summer. An official told FilGoal.com last week that Ahly s newly-appointed coach Hossam Al-Badri had a discussion with the Egypt goalkeeper about a possible comeback to the Egyptian champions in the close …

CAIRO: Are Egyptians ready for international competition? Apparently not. We’re really good at getting “so far. But, once we get there, it seems something, some inner fire that propels athletes on, dies out. There must be a reason, (most probably several), hindering Egyptian athletes from reaching international competition level. In order to cut the infamous …

By the time the Confederations Cup ends, either Brazil or the US will have lifted the trophy. For Egypt, though, the tournament concluded earlier after that embarrassing 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Americans. Too bad the loss came at the end. Had it been the reverse, had Egypt lost to the US first, …

CAIRO: An exchange of words between Amr Zaki and some of his teammates contributed to Egypt s World Cup qualifier loss to Algeria, coach Hassan Shehata said on Thursday. In an interview with Arab Radio and Television (ART), Shehata revealed that Zaki triggered an on-field disagreement with Mohamed Abou-Trika and Mohamed Zidan during Egypt s …

CAIRO: Newly-promoted Bundesliga side Mainz announced that Gamal Hamza s move from Zamalek is to be concluded soon. Mainz said on their official site that an agreement was reached over the transfer of the 27-year-old striker, whose move is subject to a procedural approval from the Egyptian Football Associationn (EFA). Mainz are waiting for the …

CAIRO: Zamalek are close to signing Moroccan midfielder Abdelkarim Kissi, sources revealed. The 29-year-old is set to undergo a medical on Thursday to complete his move to the Cairo giants. Zamalek will sign Kissi on a free transfer after his contract with Cypriot side AEK Larnaca expired. He will become the second midfield reinforcement for …

CAIRO: Egypt keeper Essam Al-Hadari could make a sensational return to Ahly after a number of high-profile politicians interfered to improve his relation with the Red Devils board. An Ahly official told FilGoal.com that coach Hossam Al-Badri contacted the keeper regarding a possible transfer to the Cairo giants. The official added that Ahly will announce …

CAIRO: Ahmed Hassan believes Egypt is not up against an impossible mission to reach the 2010 World Cup, despite its poor qualifying start. The African champions slumped to an opening home draw with Zambia, before losing soundly in Algeria to cast doubts over their World Cup hopes. But Hassan is adamant that he and his …

CAIRO: Ahly have announced the signing of 20-year-old Algerian playmaker Amir Sayoud on a five-year contract. While confirming the deal, the Red Devils official website is yet to unveil the transfer s full details. Sayoud previously played for ES Setif in his native Algeria, before having a brief experience with Ahly Dubai in the United …

CAIRO: Alaa Kamal has confirmed his return to Arab Contractors from Zamalek after the latter failed to pay his full transfer fee to the Mountain Wolves. I have returned to Contractors, but for financial reasons, Kamal told FilGoal.com. Zamalek wanted to keep me, but the club couldn’t afford to pay the rest of the installments …

CAIRO: Rwandan football association president Jean Bosco Kazura is fully confident that Rwanda will be strong opponents to Egypt when both teams meet next month. The Amavubi Stars face the Pharaohs on July 5 in a crucial 2010 World Cup qualifier in Cairo, and neither side can afford to lose. Egypt is languishing at the …

CAIRO: A statement issued yesterday by South African police refuted allegations that players on Egypt’s national football team were robbed by prostitutes they brought back to their hotel rooms to celebrate their victory over Italy. The statement said the robbery took place during the game, not after it, and denied that any police source spoke …

CAIRO: Amr Zaki will start rehabilitation for his thigh injury next week, according to Zamalek doctor Mostafa Al-Monayeri. Amr was supposed to rest for three weeks before starting his rehab, two weeks passed and he should start jogging next week, Al-Monayeri was quoted by Zamalek s official site. Zaki was injured in Egypt s 3-1 …

CAIRO: Egypt will have to do without Ahmed Fathi when they face Rwanda in the World Cup qualifiers next month after he aggravated a knee injury on Sunday. The versatile midfielder initially picked up a knee ligament injury during Egypt s stunning 1-0 victory over world champions Italy in the Confederations Cup on Thursday. He …

CAIRO: Hossam Al-Badri has been promoted to become Ahly s new head coach, the Egyptian champions said on Monday. The Ahly board has decided to name Hossam Al-Badri as the first team s head coach, an Ahly statement read. Al-Badri served as assistant coach to Manuel Jose during the past five seasons, which saw him …

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: Sport s highest court will hear an appeal by Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary against a four-month ban imposed by FIFA for breaking his contract with former club Al-Ahly. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Tuesday it will also hear an appeal from El-Hadary s current club, FC Sion of Switzerland, which was …

CAIRO: Ahly assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri stressed that he would jump at a chance to become the club s first team coach. Al-Badri has been in charge of the team since the departure of Manuel Jose at the end of the past season. While denying that he is set to be announced as new coach, …

RUSTENBURG, South Africa: Egypt s coaching staff blamed its collapse against the United States on a tough Confederations Cup schedule and injuries to key players. Assistant coach Chawki Gharib said that playing two of the world s top ranked teams in Brazil and World Cup holder Italy had exhausted the African champions, who could not …