FOOTY FAIR

Zamalek Quit the Egyptian League

2015-12-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Egyptian giants and reigning league champions Zamalek have had enough of what they see as poor refereeing decisions and have taken the drastic step of leaving their domestic league the club announced on Monday.

Zamalek's board met after the 3-2 loss to El-Gaish on Sunday evening and decided not to complete their league fixtures.

The club's fury with the refereeing in the Egyptian league came when their request to have Mahmoud El-Banna replaced as the referee for their match against El-Gaish fell on deaf ears.

The Cairo-based club believed that El-Banna's designation was to aid rivals Al Ahly.

Zamalek's fears appeared to have come true as El-Banna sent off defender Ali Gabr after just four minutes and then awarded two penalties to El-Geish during the match.

Club's officials were predictably furious and although the Egyptian FA says, as of Monday night, that they have not received any official communication from Zamalek yet, they do stand behind the officiating in the league.

Under the league's regulations Zamalek could be dropped all the way down to the fourth tier of Egyptian football if they do not reverse their decision.

Four Epic Football Kit Blunders

2015-08-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

Major League Soccer club Orlando City and its goalkeeper Tallman Hall turned some heads this weekend after the shot stopper was spotted wearing a keeper shirt with the words "Team Crest Here" in place of where the club's badge was supposed to be on the shirt.

Hall and Orlando City however, were not the first player or team to have an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction in the world of football so today I give you my 4 all-time favorite football kit blunders.

#4 - That's not how you spell my name

Manchester United's Brazilian midfielder is just one of many footballers that have had their last names misspelled on the back of their shirts, so this will be the only player name spelling error on the list. "Andesron" wore this misspelled jersey in United's season opener back in 2012.

#3 - There's only one H in palace

If you think misspelling a player's last name on the back of the shirt is bad, Crystal Palace's spelling error was much worse. In 2004 the club had their own name misspelled on the team badge by adding an "h" to "Crystal" for an unknown reason. The blunder was so funny that it inspired a chant from the Palace supporters: "There's only one h in Palace!"

#2 - Upside down

When Wolverhampton fan Richard Gough ordered his favorite club's shirt for a low price he was quite happy with his purchase. But when the jersey came with the club badge sewn-on upside-down Richard was understandably upset and took on social media to vent his frustration. The club did respond to Mr. Gough with an appropriately humorous upside-down apology letter and they also treated him with some awesome gifts.

In case you can't read the letter attached, here is what it says:

Dear Richard,

I'm very sorry to hear you've received a shirt with an upside down badge on it.
Although we've been riding on the crest of a wave recently, in terms of results, we pride ourselves on the quality of our shirts and we certainly don't get a badge of honour on this occasion.

That said, the world can sometimes look better upside down — last year's league table being just one example.

Please accept our apologies, along with a ticket (printed the right way up) to our home game versus Shrewsbury on the 15th March. We'll also take you into the Dressing Room to meet the players before the match, where you can get both shirts signed.

Thanks, as always, for your support.

Best regards,

Matt Grayson
Wolves

#1 - Liverpool El-Mahalla

By far my favorite kit blunder of all time was when Egyptian side Ghazl El-Mahalla’s kit-man forgot to bring his goalkeeper's shirt to a match against Al Ahly. With the appropriate kit nowhere around, the man in charge of providing his players with the gear opted for the only option at the time, picking up a replica Liverpool goalkeeper jersey from the local sports shop. The club's shirt sponsor McDonalds was even plastered over Liverpool's partner Standard Chartered.

Is Mohamed Salah The Real Deal?

2015-03-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

At 22 years of age and just 13 appearances for his new club Chelsea FC during the course of a full year, Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah was looking very likely not to break through into José Mourinho's first team. But the 2015 winter transfer deadline day provided the 35 time capped Egyptian international with a new temporary home and a new opportunity to prove himself when it was announced that the "young pharaoh" (as one of my Egyptian friends calls him) will be moving to Italy to play with Serie A side Fiorentina until the end of the 2014-15 season.

Salah did not wait long to make an impression, scoring a goal in his first start (2nd overall appearance) and assisting on another for the eventual 3-1 Fiorentina win. Since that first start Salah had scored five more times in just five appearances, bringing his goal tally to six in seven matches including a brace against Juventus earlier today.

Without a doubt Mourinho is looking on and smiling as the Egyptian continues to perform in Italy, knowing full well that the talented youngster will be back in his dressing room this summer. But can Salah's small sample sized success thus far in Italy translate to the Premier League?

Let's not forget that while with Swiss side FC Basel, Mohamed Salah helped his side to two consecutive wins against his current employers Chelsea, scoring a goal in each of the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League matches.

There have been numerous articles about the Egyptian not being able to perform in England, calling him a "flop" and various other nicknames that suggest his inability to play at the highest level. But is every footballer that can't break the Chelsea starting XI a flop? Let's face it, the London club has a very impressive roster and at 22 years of age there are very few that have been awarded a permanent starting job in Mourinho's outfit.

He may not be ready to step in for The Blues just yet, but Mohamed Salah is turning heads which will at least alert other big clubs if he never sees his chance at Stamford Bridge.

5 Memorable AFCON Moments of Past Tournaments

2015-02-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

With 2015 AFCON tournament behind us perhaps it is a good time to reflect on some of the most memorable moments of this competition.

It is incredible history there have been some incredible games, results and performances, and if you are not an AFCON fan, perhaps you have missed some classic football moments that deserved your attention.

Here is what I consider the 5 most memorable AFCON moments of past tournaments.

Angola 4-4 Mali

In 2010, the opening match of the Africa Cup of nations set hosts Angola against Mali. The “Palancas Negras” were coached by Manuel Jose, and the Portuguese coach was able to take the host country to halftime with a 4-0 lead.

The victory seemed like a sure thing for the hosts but in the second half of the game Mali mounted an historic comeback. The turnaround in the scoreline was done in the final twelve minutes of the game, and Mali was able to rescue a tie in what is one of the most incredible comebacks in AFCON history.

Cameroon Wins Back to Back

All Cameroon fans will remember the 2000 and 2002 tournaments in which their country won the tournament. Samuel Eto’o was in his prime and with the help of Rigobert Song, Cameroon wasn’t able to be stopped and found no equal in what was two tournaments complete dominated by the Indomitable Lions.

Egypt Makes History

Not many sides have won the AFCON and only one country has won the tournament three times in a row, Egypt.

We will perhaps never see another country dominate this tournament the way Egypt did. Players like Mohamed Aboutrika, Wael Gomaa, Essam El Hadary and Ahmed Hassan will forever be a part of Egyptian folklore for what they did in representation of their country at AFCON.

Their final tournament victory was in 2010, but there has always been some disappointment with Egyptian fans, that such an incredible generation of players failed to qualify for the World Cup during that stretch.

Zambian Heroes

20 years after a plane accident that killed the entire Zambian team off the coast of Libreville, Herve Renard led Zambia to their first tournament victory in that same city.

As the tournament went on and Zambia continue to advance, the fairytale seemed to write itself, and it all came to a conclusion during the penalty shoot-outs, when Stoppila Sunzu chanted an elegiac tune as he scored the winning penalty.

Ethiopia Returns to AFCON

It took almost 30 years for Ethiopia to once again play at AFCON, the year was 2013.

For a footballing nation like Ethiopia, being 30 years without participating in Africa’s biggest football tournament was a punishment of epic proportions. Winners of AFCON in 1961, they had never regained the glory of the past, and in 2013 their luck didn’t change. They had to settle with being able to attend the party since it wasn’t theirs to have.

Football Stampedes That Made Black Friday Shopping Seem Tame

2014-12-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

Black Friday shopping stampedes is a phenomenon I will likely never understand to the fullest. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of people fighting over what may or may not be "great deals" on electronics and other retail products is not something I can see myself participating in at any point in my life. Football however, I can relate to. And perhaps I can even relate to both the good and the bad, so with Black Friday in mind, I list some (not nearly all) of the innocent, bizarre, shocking and tragic stampedes in football.

Editor's note: This is not a list of football's worst tragedies, and I would hate to offend anyone by excluding some of the more heartbreaking and devastating events in football history such as the Ghana disaster at the Accra Sport Stadium, the Guatemala Disaster or the events at Ibrox. This is simply some events that were the first to pop into my head and ones I could find videos for.

Chinese go crazy over Beckham

When David Beckham visited a Chinese University in 2013, over 1000 fans gathered to see the English football icon. But the event was not as choreographed as a Chinese holiday parade routine as the majority of fans rushing to get closer to the star, in turn injuring about 7 people in the stampede.

Chileans in Brazil

Not every Chilean fan turned around and went to watch the Chile vs. Spain match in this summer's World Cup at a local bar after being told the venue has been sold out. Instead. about 100 Chile fans broke through a checkpoint and stormed into the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro creating chaos for the stadium's security team.

Ellis Park - South Africa

Many stadium tragedies have been due to overcrowding. But while in many parts of the world stadiums have never had such experience, for South Africa the Ellis park disaster came 10 years after another unfortunate football incident known as the Orkney disaster which saw 42 people die during a pre-season match. At Ellis park in 2001, it is said that there were 30,000 EXTRA tickets sold to a venue that could hold 60,000. With capacity at 150% the result was devastating as 43 spectators lost their lives due to the stampede.

Port Said, Egypt

Egypt is known around the world for its fierce football rivalries and violent clashes between rival supporters. But in 2012 the ugliest side of Egyptian football violence showed its face after home-side Al Masry fans attacked visiting Al-Ahly fans, player and staff even though Al Masry won the match 3-1. The result of the violent stampede which used knives, bats and other weapons was devastating. Over 1000 injuries and 79 deaths were recorded as a result of these events.

Hillsborough

While not officially the most tragic event in football as far as death toll is concerned, the Hillsborough disaster is perhaps the most storied and the one that is talked about more than any other. On April 15th, 1989 during a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest 96 fans died after too many supporters were let into the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield for this FA Cup semi-final match-up. The Hillsborough disaster marks to this day one of the saddest, most tragic and most devastating days in English football.

Al Ahly Player Suspended For Untucking a Referee's Shirt

2014-10-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

One of the standard rules at all levels of football, from pub leagues to the World Cup Final, is that players should not put their hands on a referee.

Al Ahly midfielder Walid Soliman broke that rule on Monday and has been slapped with a four-match suspension by the Egyptian FA.

Charged with 'raising his hands to the referee' during his side’s 0-0 draw against Al Asyouty Sport, what Soliman did was a little funnier in fact.

After drawing his second yellow card of the match, the fiery midfielder proceeded to unstuck the referees shirt before leaving the pitch.

The North African country's football authorities did not see any humour in the situation however and besides the ban, have also fined Soliman for 5,000 LE, approximately $700 US.

The Cairo Derby - Football Rivalries - Al-Ahly vs. Zamalek

2014-08-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

The most fierce and biggest rivalry in not only Egypt, but arguably all of Northern Africa, is the Cairo Derby between Al-Ahly and Zamalek.

In Andy Mitten's brilliant book, Mad for It, he argues that "Cairo boasts a footballing rivalry that can genuinely claim to dwarf Real v Barca and Boca v River Plate. Al-Ahly v Zamalek goes beyond fanatical. It is part football match, part political rally, part history lesson and generally a good excuse for the locals to hurl rocks at each other.”

Like many of the fiercest rivalries in the world of football, the Cairo Derby was shaped by historical, political and economic factors. With both clubs located within Egypt's capital, Zamalek were perceived to be the club of Egypt's wealthier families and Al-Ahly were given the mantle of being the club of the people.

The rivalry took on a political spin in the 1940's, as Ahly became the de facto club for Nationalists in Cairo, and Zamalek supporters were seen as Royalists.

The complicated political climate through the years in Egypt has often carried into what occurs in and around the stadiums, and there's no better example of that in the highly charged atmosphere between these two great rivals. Political discord stemming from the frustrations with the Egyptian government have become entangled with supporting these two big sides and violence in the stands is often a result.

Ultras of both sides often engage in fighting each other and security forces on derby day, leading to this fixture being one of the most dreaded for authorities on the Egyptian football calendar.

On the actual football side, with mistrust running high between the two clubs, foreign referees are typically brought in to handle their matches. The perception is that an Egyptian referee would likely favour one of the sides over the other and can't be trusted.

The derby is typically held in the 100,000 seat National Stadium with the results between these two sides often determining the destiny of the league title. Al-Ahly and Zamalek are the two most successful club sides in not only Egypt, but all of Africa and were ranked as number 1 and 2 respectively as the Best African Club Sides of the 20th Century by the CAF (Confederation of African Football).

Much to the Zamalek supporters chagrin, Al-Ahly hold the edge in the meetings across all competitions between the two with 89 wins to Zamalek's 52 and with 70 of their matches ending in draws.

Al-Ahly also holds the record for most Egyptian league titles with an astounding 37 to Zamalek's 11 titles. Both clubs have also had success outside of their own borders with Al-Ahly winning the CAF Champions League 8 times and Zamalek winning it 5 times themselves.

Expectedly, both sides have formed the backbone of Egypt's national side over the years with many great players like Hossam Hassan, Ibrahim Youssef, Mohamed Aboutrika, and Emad Moteab playing for one, or in Hassan's case both, of the clubs.

This bi-annual derby, known as Likaa El Kemma, which translates as "The Meeting of the Best", will continue to define Egyptian football for many years to come and holds a worthy place in our list of the world's greatest rivalries.

World Cup Ups & Downs - Posters by the Oraby Brothers (Gallery)

2014-08-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

It seems that a lot of good football artwork is coming out of Egypt and this set of posters is no different. Created by graphic artist brothers Monzer and Mohanad Oraby out of Cairo, this particular vintage style set showcases the stars and flops of this summer's World Cup in Brazil.

You can follow the brothers on twitter @MonzerOraby @il_Moo and check them out on Behance by clicking here

"Some showed their class, some didn't. Some made impressive performances, and some disappointed us, but at the end we had one of the greatest World Cups we have ever witnessed. A tribute to the players who made this World Cup unforgettable".

Modern Legends - Football Artwork by Karim Gouda (Gallery)

2014-07-31T12:00:00.000-04:00

Karim Gouda is an Egyptian Art Director based out of Cairo ( @kareemgouda ). But aside from creating logos and branded material Karim is obsessed with designing football artwork and posters. He calls this project Modern Legends.

10 Fat Footballers

2014-07-18T18:00:00.000-04:00

So, as if Newcastle United didn't have enough issues to deal with on and off the pitch, the club has now fined French winger Hatem Ben-Arfa for showing up after holidays looking a bit overweight. But being fat, while not at all the norm in football has been around for many years as the list below will prove.

Sol Campbell

A great footballer earlier in his career, Sol Campbell was never a small guy. But by the time he hit the pitch with Newcastle United in 2010 in what was his last year as a professional footballer, Campbell had gained a few pounds and had lost quite a bit of speed. He played for the Magpies just seven times that season before retiring from football.

Ailton

Aílton Gonçalves da Silva, a big boy with a big name. Ailton as he is known to most was pretty much always on the chubby side. But the Brazilian striker does not let his weight get the better of him, and at 40 years of age still plays professional for BFV Hassia Bingen, a club in the German 5th tier.

Andy Reid

Currently with Nottingham Forrest, this Irish midfielder unlike most others on this list startd gaining weight early in his career. Pictured below in a Sunderland shirt, Reid spent time with the Black Cats when he was just 26-29 years old.

Collin Samuel

This Trinidad & Tobago striker for whatever reason has spent most of his career in Scotland. He did spend a little time in Canada with Toronto FC at which time I personally heard the home crowd sing "who ate all the pies?" at the big man. After two seasons at TFC Samuel went back to Scotland.

Mido

The Egyptian trouble maker was more than just a coach's headache because of his poor attitude. Mido started gaining weight in a very early "footballing age". Whether because he was fat, or maybe just because his magnificent football skills had just seemed to turn-off one day, he retired from football in 2013 at just 30 years old.

Miguel Herrera

Herrera was the face of the 2014 World Cup for a little while after the Mexican coach's celebrations, face expressions and yelling videos went viral over the internet. Sure he is pretty fat right now, but he wasn't very skinny when he played in the Mexican league and internationally for his country as well.

Neville Southall

The Welsh goalkeeper wasn't always as big as the photo below would suggest. He was a big guy in his 17 years with Everton, but not fat. In his later footballing years however Southalll gained the pounds quick.

Ronaldo

Probably the most famous fat footballer is Brazilian legend Ronaldo. After surpassing the all time scoring record in the World Cup, Ronaldo gained what seemed to be a pound per minute. Maybe now that Miroslav Klose had passed Ronaldo's scoring tally, the Brazilian can go on a diet and come out of international retirement.

Salvador Cabanas

The Paraguayan footballer had his days on and off the weight throughout his career. Some years he looked quite skinny while on other occasions he seemed more likely to be a boxer than a striker in the Mexican league.

Winston Bogarde

Dutch international defender Bogarde was pretty much always on the bigger side. But at one point while playing for Ajax in his native Netherlands he really gained the pounds. He did seem to manage to shed the weight with his later clubs AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea.

Weekend Highlights - Top 5 Matches

2014-06-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

This week's top 5 matches you should have watched:

#5 - Germany vs. Cameroon 2-2 (International Friendly)

Samuel Eto'o and his side Cameroon, show that they can handle the pressure against a big side like the Germans. Scoring first to go up 1-0, the Cameroonians were not intimidated when Germany bounced back quickly to make it 2-1, and eventually tied the game up.

#4 - Toronto FC vs. Columbus Crew 3-2 (Major League Soccer)

Coming twice from behind, Toronto FC star striker Jermaine Defoe netted two goals for his club and an eventual Doneil Henry header in stoppage time gave the home crowd a last minute victory celebration.

#3 - Mexico vs. Ecuador 3-1 (International Friendly)

The Mexicans have a tough assignment in this year's World Cup having to play in a group with Croatia, Cameroon and hosts Brazil. Playing against another World Cup participant Ecuador, the Mexicans showed class in a fairly comfortable win.

#2 - Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps 3-4 (Major League Soccer)

Another Acadia Cup match-up, and another classic. Going behind 1-0 early, Vancouver would score 4 unanswered to take a 3 goal lead. But Portlandwould make it interesting late coming back with 2 goals of their own. (Must see Portland's last goal!)

#1 - Chile vs. Egypt 3-2 (International Friendly)

Against the run of play, Egypt were already up 2-0 in just the 16th minute. Chile created many goal-scoring opportunities throughout the match and came all the way back, to claim a 3-2 win.