CAIRO: Portugal midfielder Maniche has joined Inter Milan on loan until June from Atletico Madrid, with the option of sealing a permanent move next summer. Even though the Nerazzurri are yet to unveil the 30-year-old, manager Roberto Mancini sounded his delight with the deal. I think that he is an excellent player and with the …

Club Africain midfielder Lassaad Ouertani revealed on Monday that Zamalek are interested in acquiring his services. Zamalek officials contacted me and made their interest known to Club Africain president, Ouertani told Tunisian paper Assabah. The president said he won t consider any offer until the end of the season because the club have many important …

CAIRO: Egypt assistant coach Shawki Gharib believes his side produced their best display in the African Cup of Nations preparations following a 3-3 draw with Angola on Sunday. We are pleased with Egypt s performance against Angola. This match was far better than our previous two friendlies against Namibia and Mali, Gharib told FilGoal.com. Emad …

CAIRO: Zamalek assistant coach Ayman Mansour blamed his side s weak 2-0 win over Maleyet Kafr Al-Zayat on poor fitness. Mostafa Gaafar and Gamal Hamza scored late in each period as Zamalek labored to victory over the second-division side and advanced to the quarter finals of the Egyptian Cup. We qualified to quarters but the …

CAIRO: Mohamed Barakat is set to travel to Germany on Sunday to undergo tests on his bad knee. The Ahli midfielder has recovered from his knee surgery, but needs further checks because he is experiencing pains again. Egypt manager Hassan Shehata had to drop Barakat from his initial and final squads for the African Cup …

CAIRO: Ittihad agreed terms with Ahli to sign either Reda Al-Weeshi or Abdel-Hamid Hassan on loan till the end of the season, the Alexandria side said. Ittihad are desperate to land an established striker in January to help them fight relegation. They failed to sign Nigerian forward Endurance Idahor from Sudanese side Merreikh or Zamalek …

As our footballers take a 50-day break induced by the African Nations Cup starting next week, we have been treated to the delightful news that the Egyptian football league is the 26th best in the world, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). The IFFHS also places Ahly as the 42nd …

CAIRO: Weariness could be the biggest threat to Egypt when they defend the African Nations Cup in Ghana. Heavy legs and tired minds were evident when Cairo club giants Al-Ahly slumped 3-1 to Tunisian visitors Etoile Sahel in an African Champions League final that produced one of the greatest shocks of the 42-year competition. And …

CAIRO: Zamalek captain Hazem Emam was dropped from his squad for the Egyptian Cup game with Maleyet Kafr Al-Zayat on Friday. The 32-year-old playmaker was initially named in a 20-man squad before manager Ruud Krol left him out as he failed to recover in time for the game. Emam missed the 3-0 victory over Ismailia …

CAIRO: Ismaili have turned down Al-Ahli s hefty bid to sign left-back Sayed Moawad after a meeting between the club s board of directors and Ismailia governor on Wednesday. The Dervishes chairman Yehia Al-Koumi recently announced that Moawad is set to complete a move to rivals Ahli for LE 6 million. His announcement prompted an …

CAIRO: Ismaili vice president Ibrahim Ashour said that Sayed Moawad s transfer hasn t been completed as the board didn t give the green light to chairman Yehia Al-Kumi yet. We will have a meeting with governor Abdul-Gelil Al-Fakharani to decide on the player s future, Ashour told FilGoal.com. Al-Kumi can t make the deal …

CAIRO: Zamalek new signing Mohamed Abdullah is ready to start his career with Zamalek as his license arrived to the club from Konyaspor. We will add him to our local and African squad on Wednesday. He could feature against Maliet Kafr Al-Zayat, in the Egyptian Cup, Zamalek s assistant manager Ayman Mansour told FilGoal.com. The …

CAIRO: Ahli s player Tarek Al-Saied decided to put an end to his career because of a knee injury that will keep him out for almost a year. Dr Ehab Ali told me that I need a very long period, almost a year, before getting back in the game, he said in a TV show …

CAIRO: Zamalek captain Hazem Emam was named in his side s squad for the Egyptian Cup game with Maleyet Kafr Al-Zayat on Friday. The 32-year-old playmaker missed the 3-0 victory over Ismailia Electricity in the round of the 32 due to injury, but he recovered in time for Kafr Al-Zayat game and he is expected …

ASWAN: Egypt began their countdown to defending the African Nations Cup title with a 3-0 friendly drubbing of fellow qualifiers Namibia Saturday. The Pharaohs play Mali next Thursday in the United Arab Emirates and Angola in Portugal three days later before opening their Nations Cup Group C campaign against Cameroon on January 22 in Ghana. …

CAIRO: Abdul-Halim Ali scored twice as Zamalek eased to a 3-0 home victory over third division side Ismailia Electricity to progress to the Egyptian Cup round of 16 on Friday. Mostafa Gaafar, who was the architect of Ali’s brace, was also on the scoresheet after notching his first goal of the season. The Cairo giants …

CAIRO: Ahli assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri believes the players’ poor display was to blame for their shock exit from the Egyptian Cup at the hands of second-division side Asyut Petroleum.The Cairo giants, who dominated Egypt’s secondary competition in the past two years, slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Asyut to suffer an early elimination from …

These pricey football academies with names like Barcelona, AC Milan and Arsenal that are popping up all over Cairo: have they really produced soccer players worthy of their names? So far they haven’t, not necessarily because they can’t but because they haven’t been around long enough. But why wait to see the finished product? Why …

CAIRO: Mohamed Abdullah believes his switch to Zamalek will boost his chances of earning a place on the Egypt squad. The right-back moved to Zamalek from Konyaspor and is determined to make up for the disappointing spell he had with the Turkish side. I chose Zamalek because they will give me the chance to feature …

CAIRO: The Egyptian FA are considering a hefty LE 50 million offer from an Arab Television network to have the exclusive rights to broadcast league matches. The offer may prompt us to halt our current policy to sell the league’s satellite rights to several TV networks, an Egyptian FA official who refused to be named, …

CAIRO: Ahli’s midfielder Mohamed Barakat has been completely ruled out of the Nations Cup as he is set to undergo a knee surgery in Germany on Jan. 14, Ahli s doctor, Ehab Ali, told FilGoal.com. Egypt’s technical staff were considering including the 29-year old player to their Nations Cup squad following the injury of right-winger …

Egypt assistant coach Shawky Gharib said that players who were forced to join the squad late are unlikely to be with the team when they face Namibia in Aswan on Saturday. Middlesbrough midfielder Mohamed Shawky is expected to arrive late on Wednesday, while Arab-based duo Wael Gomaa and Hassan Mostafa will not leave their clubs …

Egypt playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika has pointed out the importance of warm-up friendlies ahead of the 2008 African Cup of Nations. The Pharaohs will play Namibia next week in the first of three warm-ups, and the Ahli wizard is eyeing a victory. We are the holders, we will go to Ghana with an eye on the …

2007 was not one of Egypt s better football years. The country with the most African Nations Cup championships, the most appearances in the ANC, and the defending champions (we re all three) had to wait until the last game of the last day before qualifying for next month s ANC tournament in Ghana. And …

CAIRO: Ismaili winger Abdullah Al-Saied has signed a five-year contract with the club. The 23-year-old is expected to get LE 450,000 in his first season, and an additional LE 50,000 will be added each year, according to an anonymous source from the club. Al-Saied has been linked with a move to Feyenoord last season, but …

CAIRO: Mostafa Gaafar is set to end his contract with Zamalek in January, the frozen striker said Tuesday. Gaafar told FilGoal.com that he is ready to pay Zamalek LE 3 million and turn into a free agent. He signed a two-year extension last summer to stay with the Whites until 2011. The 26-year-old forward has …

CAIRO: Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has revealed striker Ahmed Mido Hossam could make his return ahead of schedule and participate in Egypt’s squad in the African Nations Cup. The former England defender said that Mido has resumed trainings after being out for 10 weeks. Mido, who had an excellent start with Boro, has been ruled …

CAIRO: Hilal striker Godwin Ndubuisi has decided to join Tunisia s Etoile Sahel, favoring the African champions over Al Ahly, according to Sudanese reports. The Nigerian hot shot has been pursued by Africa s top two, and Egyptian champions Al Ahly officially declared their interest this week. Earlier reports in Sudan had suggested that Al …

ALEXANDRIA: Ittihad new boss Taha Basri has promised to keep the team among the elites despite being second from the bottom at the end of the Egyptian League’s first round. Ittihad have many good players and I m sure they can take the club away from the danger zone, the former Enppi and Ismaili coach …