Great teams rise for glory after getting knocked down. I can say it whole hearted that we are indeed a great team. Egypt yesterday reached their third successive CAN final after thrashing Algeria by 4 goals to nil. The victory itself was great but it was made even sweater by the way Egypt played and the manner by which Algeria behaved.
It was a virtuoso performance from the Egyptian team and it was obvious the team as a unit were very calm and collected from the start. A quality that is crucial to winning such games. Tactically we were spot on too. The Algerians were frankly a disgrace to football and sportsmanship. Belhadj and Chaouchi come to mind. The keeper should have been red carded twice. He attempted to head-but the referee after he allowed a penalty. The Algerians wanted it to be retaken for some reason? He later got his marching orders after lashing at Egypt striker Geddo. Belhadj apparently was furious after Zidan had danced around him for the second goal in addition to Mohammady being a bit showy. He attempted a nightmare double tackle on the latter and was rightly red carded for his efforts. Frankly this team was very disappointing to me. When they beat Egypt they were all over the place with comments of how they were better. Bougherra even added that Egypt should "Shut up". I think we shut him up real good. In defeat they turned into thugs. What a shame that they get to go to the World cup and not Egypt.
Egypt lined up as they did against Cameroon with the only difference being that in this game Algeria were sitting back hoping to hit Egypt on the break with long balls behind the defense. For once Shehata and Shawky Ghareeb got their tactics right. Egypt were patient in their approach always playing the ball to feet and using Mohammady on the right flank to produce great width to devastating effect. He was ever so dangerous and had the better of Belhadj for pace and skill. He also forced him to defend deeper and limited his forward runs. In the rare occasions that he did attack Egypt had Mohammday, Ahmed Hassan and usually Fathalla to close him down and stop his runs. It was obvious the manager had done his homework as Algeria's danger came from two sources Belhadj which was neutralized and Karim Ziani. Karim was ever present in the Algerian win against Cote D'Ivoire, he wanted the ball all the time and provided an outlet for his teammates then proceeded to distribute play brilliantly. Not this time. Egypt pressurized Algeria high up the pitch by two or three players. Ziani especially was always closed down all over the pitch. It was not haphazard, we pressured them at key points and always kept their defenders on their toes. Ahmed Fathi was particularly impressive doing that and in plugging the hole between the midfield and the defense. Egypt contained Algeria even before the red cad and their only hope of scoring came from set pieces and corners. Hadary had just one save to make for the hole game which shows you how solid and aware defensively Egypt was. Hadary surprisingly was very solid in the air too.
Going forward we looked ever so dangerous. We passed the ball well until openings appeared and we would always be able to find an outlet. This was due to a number of great players. Mohammady to me was exceptional not because of his runs but because of his ability to always find space for himself. His excellent wing play was wonderful and he always provided an outlet for his teammates even when Algeria knew it was coming.
In Meteb and Zidan Egypt have one of the most beautiful attacking partnerships in African football. The forward runs of Meteb are brilliant in my opinion. He does not just run, he runs with purpose and in space between defenders. He also has the ability to arch his runs to create the needed space between defenders. This gives his fellow midfielders, especially players like Ahmed Hassan and Ghali. the option to attempt the direct through ball from deep. He is also tireless, will chase every ball, hold it up and pressurize defenders. Yesterday he showed great ability when he latched onto the mistake of the Algerian defense and controlled the bouncing ball with his head then his feet to ultimately force the penalty and the red card. He did this again in the second half and that run should have been another penalty in my opinion and ended his participation in the game. This would be a huge blow for Egypt in the final. Don't believe me, just look at how poor we looked after Meteb was replaced and it took us around 15minutes to get back to the game (against 10 man Algeria) because a very important outlet in Meteb was gone.
Zidan compliments Meteb. His dribbling ability and the way he drops in the pocket between Meteb and the midfield makes all the difference. Give him the ball to feet and facing goal-wards and you are in for a treat. His dribbling ability can be rivaled only by the likes of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. He can score and create goals. He was unlucky in the first couple of games but his goal against Algeria was jaw dropping. Dribbling around Belhadj he finished the move off with a brilliant strike with his weaker left foot. I think the problem was he was pressured by the knowledge that he will always be substituted by Geddo no matter what. We all know how Shehata is superstitious. Meteb's injury sparked him to life and he knew he wouldn't be going off this time around.
Ahmed Hassan made up for his tense performance in Sudan by putting on a professional performance. He might not have been in the thick of the action but he was always ever present for his teammates asking for the ball and distributing it accurately he also did a great job on controlling Belhadj. There is also the phenomena of the tournament. Mohamed Nagy GEDDO whose sublime finishing could make him possibly the first tournament top scorer off the bench.
Overall Egypt were perfect. We have proved that we are indeed the best team in Africa. It remains to be seen how Egypt will adapt with out Meteb against a very fast Ghana side. However, win or lose this Egyptian team will forever be remembered as one of the best teams ever to play in the great continent. They have forever earned my respect and so has their coach. Say what you like about Shehata but at the end of the day he must be doing something right. Hats off to him and his brilliant team, they will always be the Champions of Africa in my book!
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