Surprise……..Mido to Zamalek!!

July 31st, 2009 | by: Tamim | Comments(6)

So I wake up this morning and sit on my computer checking the news to find myself bombarded with news of Mido’s move to Zamalek from Middlesbrough for one year on loan to the surprise of football fans in Egypt.

Mido said that he took this step in order to get some play time and focus more in order to grab Shehata’s attention and return to the national team again; a good reason but he could have done that in England also!!

Although Zamalek fans will be more than happy with such a deal, and why shouldn’t they, they now have an experienced, famous and talented striker added to their team beside Zaki and Shikabala and they may have a real chance of winning some silverware this season; but this was a disappointment for me and for many others including some Zamalek fans.

it always upsets me when a player returns from Europe to play in Egypt, not that the league here is bad, but because in Europe the player lives a full professional life that enhance his skills and abilities as a professional football player; an Egyptian player in Europe builds a reputation for the country and its football and when he plays with the national team he is more valuable.

In this case, we have lost a good player and a football figure who played at top levels in England against top flight teams like Manchester and arsenal and most probably he won’t return there. I say we lost because Mido in Zamalek won’t be the same Mido in England, he won’t find an adequate challenge to develop himself here; instead, he will give his minimum, get spoiled by the club and then I am afraid we would talk about a player who was once a superstar but now is nothing.

For those who don’t know, Mido was originally a Zamalek player before leaving to Europe and every year, during the summer transfer window, rumors of Him returning to Zamalek were always circulated in the media but they were always rumors and stayed so; for example, In 2007, he actually attended a training session with the team here in Egypt and the media confirmed that he is on the verge of a move to Zamalek but he turned out to be practicing with them to keep in form before returning to Europe.

These rumors are always fueled by Mido’s problems with clubs he play in and the continuous tensions between him and his managers there; however, this year, Mido had serious problems with his club.

After he finished his spell at Wigan on loan and Middlesbrough’s relegation, Mido was reluctant to play in the championship and waited for offers from EPL or other European topflight teams which didn’t happen; during his wait, he didn’t attend Boro’s preparation camp and stayed in Egypt practicing in the gym and attending some sessions with the u-20 team getting ready for the world cup and when he returned to them, he was heavily fined.

And as we moved closer to the closure of the transfer window, rumors had it that negotiations between Zamalek and Middlesbrough had reached an advanced level and the player said in press statements that he is keen to return home this year; however, I thought that these were just the usual rumors until it turned out to be real.

Although I am not optimistic about this move, I hope from all my heart that Mido will prove me wrong and return as the old Mido we knew and cheered for and finish this season strongly after returning to the national team and leading us to the world cup, I hope so.

I mean this Mido

Here are some Mido goals while playing in Zamalek.

In other news,

Sherif Abdel Fadil was the star of this transfer window; one day he is in Ahly, another he is in Zamalek and so, we spent our summer trying hard to figure out his destination; One day, Ismaily says he won’t sell the player, the next day they say that they will sell to the biggest offer.

Yesterday night, news confirmed that the player signed for Zamalek and while fans were waiting for him at the club, news came that he abandoned his word and didn’t show up at the club until this morning, Ahly officials appeared in the media to confirm that the players is theirs’ for LE 9 million!!!!

The question now, is he worth it?!!!!!!!

I doubt.

Have your say about the two sudden transfers?