The Man: Flavio

Flavio Amado is a name who will be forever synonymous with Ahly and Angola's golden generation. Rarely has a player gone from zero to hero in club football. His journey has been incredible.

After grabbing the attention of Ahly coach Manuel Jose in the Africa Champions League in 2001 while playing for Petro Atletico having played against Ahly in the same group (both team went to the Semis and Ahly proceeded to win the tournament) Especially while leading his team along with fellow Angolan international Gilberto to a memorable 4-2 win against Ahly in Cairo and winning the CAF Champions League best player award. Jose tried to sign him in 2003 but finally got his man in 2005. The flying Angolan was far from an instant hit at Ahly.

In his first season with Ahly he managed just 1 goal with the back of his head and missed a penalty against Zamalek in the Champions League Semi Final (I saw him miss it live) but thankfully Ahly managed to dispatch their arch rivals 4-1 on aggregate. Neutrals (some Ahly fans too) and pundits alike attacked him and coach Jose for continuing to play him although he never scored. They were very short sighted. Flavio's first season was poor from a goal scoring perspective but he provided time and space for his teammates and helped Emad Meteb win the Leagues Top Goal Scorer award. Ahly won the league, the cup and the champing league.

In CAN 2006 in Egypt he scored three goals and was supported strongly by Ahly fans in Cairo. You could always here chants of "Flavioooo, Flavioo". He proceeded to etch his name in Angolan and World football History by scoring Angola's only goal in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Still people were not convinced of his ability but his coach Manuel Jose stuck by him through the worst of it and man did he repay him in spades!

In his second season he was a new man. He proceeded to terrorize defenders with his aerial ability helped by inch perfect crosses from fellow Angolan Gilberto. He won Top scorer of the Egyptian League in 2006/2007 and 2008/2009 becoming the only ever African to win it twice and only the second African to ever win (John Utaka was the first). He scored many memorable goals during his time with Ahly. He dispatched Zamalek many times. He scored in a Air Jordan like moment against International of Brazil in the Club World Cup. His most memorable in my opinion was a header against Asec or Cotton (I can't recall) were it seemed his head had turned 360 degrees to head the goal. His final goodbye to Ahly was a winner against Ismailly to gift Ahly the league. His gifts for Jose would continue.

Flavio managed in his 4years stay at Ahly to become a fan favorite and place himself as one of the most successful foreigners (if not the most successful)to ever play in the Egyptian League. Even rivals that don't like him admit how prolific he was. It comes as no surprise then that most Ahly fans support Egypt first and Angola second in this years Cup of Nations. After all Angola has 1 Ahly player in Gilberto 1 ex-Ahly player in Flavio and an Ahly legend in Manuel Jose as Coach.

Flavio continued his tradition of scoring important goals for his Jose and Angola this year. He already grabbed 3 goals in 2 games in this years competition, all headers.. Two came against Mali in the 4-4 draw, the second of which was a joy. His third was a well placed header that gave the keeper no chance against Malawi. He is vital to Angola's hopes to proceed to the next round and all of Angola will be hoping the knock he picked up is not serious enough and he will be fit to lead the line against Algeria.

Flavio to me is arguably the best header in the world at the moment. Although only 1.73m??? (according to his wiki page) he possesses an incredible jump and the ability to produce shot like power with his head. I think the lad is a bit unlucky he came to Ahly at a more mature age because surely he would be playing in a top European team by now. He is 30 and so it seems unlikely top clubs would gamble on him but if he continues his current African Cup form he will be the tournament's top scorer and possibly we might see him the English Premier League next year. He currently plays for Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia.

All Hail Flavio

It Has Begun!

It was a rough start for CAN 2010 in Angola following the tragic shooting of the Togo player's bus were 2 people were killed and many others injured. An event that lead to the eventual withdrawal of Togo from the competition although rumors circling today suggest that they would like to rejoin the cup following three days of mourning at home. It's in the hand of the CAF now and frankly I would love it if they were able to reschedule matches so that Togo could play a part. They are a good team and deserve to play after the ordeal they have went through. Our thoughts are with them. What really rubbed me the wrong way was how coaches of European clubs mainly English flocked to comment about how it is unsafe for their players to be involved and how they would want them back and that the tournament should be cancelled and so on. To them I say shut it! Can you be more obvious? Is it possible that your main concern is the money spent on these players? Because you can't be really concerned for the players safety more than the players themselves can you? Clubs should learn to be more subtle!

The tournament went off to a flying start with a cracking 8 goal thriller! Angola lead by Flavio (x-Ahly) and Gilberto (Ahly) and under the tutelage of the fox Manuel Jose (x-Ahly) incredibly threw away a 4 goal lead against Mali who scored twice in injury time to level the score. No mystery who I was cheering for here,

ANGOLA 4 MALI 4

Flavio (36,42) Kieta (79, 94)

Gilberto (67 pen) Kanoute (88)

Manucho (74 pen) Yatabre (92)

Coming up

13:45 GMT Group A Malawi : Algeria

16:00 GMT Group B Cote D'Ivoire : Burkina Faso

Badry for Badry

Call me pessimistic, call me anti-Egyptian coaching (3o2dt el khawagah), call me whatever. I just don't feel Ahly are up to par this season. We have not been dominant even in games we won and for the first time in years I sometimes have no idea where the goal is going to come from. Hossam El Badry the current coach is doing a bare minimum job getting by. How can I say that? Ahly are on top of the Egyptian league with 4 clear points. We are undefeated in the league and we are playing the magical 4-4-2 formation. We can't really ask for more with all the injuries we have in our squad. I disagree.

Ahly is not your regular club and since it's creation 100 or so years ago fans are always expecting the club to win. I do not think there is any other team in the world who is more dominant domestically and at the same time acquiring continental success. In the last 5 years under Manuel Jose and due to the mediocre form of arch rivals Zamalek, Ahly has become even more in control. You don't believe me? Just take a look at how Zamalek fans were celebrating a draw versus Ahly. Look at how coaches alter their tactics drastically when facing Ahly. In the past they had a right to be weary, not anymore. Frankly then, topping the league is not really an achievement, it is expected. Add to that the fact that Zamalek are in shambles and Ismaily as always have a slow start and a lot of financial problems and it seems to be a must for Ahly to be on top.

As for the injuries to Barakat and Trieka off course they have an impact. They are 2 world class players, however lets not put things out of perspective. For the last 2 years these two have been in and out of injury all season long especially Barakat and Ahly continued to deliver consistently with and with out them (albeit the end of last season where we looked overexerted). This is not Badry's problem, the injury's were always going to come (both Jose and Shehata had overused some of these injured players mainly Trieka) however it is starting to become a broken record. You cannot blame everything on injuries. Badry to his credit has incorporated some youth players, more of necessity that strategy, and it seems he has hit the jack pot. Players like Shokry, Shehab, Shebeta and Farouk have a bright future ahead of them and Ahly would do good to keep hold of them. Shokry in particular in my opinion has the makings of a true star.

As for the mystical 4-4-2 formation. Come on, this urban legend should be put to rest. It is not that Egyptian players cannot play 4-4-2, it is their coaches that can't make them play it. They are too scared of the repercussions (non so than Mr. Shehata how plays all friendlies using no sweeper but not competitive games). Think I'm wrong? Look no further than Tarek El Ashry's Haras Al Hodood. They have been playing 4-4-2 for years to devastating effects. As a virtually new team they have managed an Egyptian Cup win and a Super Cup win against Badry's Ahly. Ashry on two occasions taught Badry a lesson or two on how to incorporate 4-4-2 to good use. Zamalek got taught a lesson too. It is a joy watching the movement of the Harass players on the break. They counter instinctively, their movements are built in. Why Harass Al Hodood are performing poorly against weaker opposition is strange but one would think that dressing room unrest coming from a lot of contract and transfer rumors are a contributor. Arab Contractors too use the same formation. Ahly have played numerous times under Jose using 4-4-2 in trying to push forward for draws or wins, so the know how is there and Badry knows it. He does have guts that are lacking in many other coaches. He incorporated it and stuck with it but frankly it is no rocket science.

Ahly's performances under Badry have left a lot to be desired. In the last 5 games we have been an eye soar to watch. Against the Arab Contractors we were dominated for the whole game and our keeper Adel Abdel Moniem had repeatedly kept us in the game (He is showing true potential and continues to grow in stature. Why did we buy Ekramy?) Not to mention how the Contractor's attackers we missing chance after chance. We came up 2-0 winners but the performance should have been a warning for things to come. We then drew with Ettihad 1-1 in a 50-50 game which could have gone either way. We looked good going forward but were ripped to shreds at the back mainly due to the inability of Ahmed Aly to do any defensive work. How I miss Sedeeq. Against Zamalek we were controlled for most of the first half but came on strongly the second. We had most of the play but we created very little. The two best chances of the game fell to Mido how missed on both occasions with the goal at his mercy. It is a shame looking at him play now. Again against Ismaily it was the same but a bit better since they were down to 10men for most of the second half. 3 draws on the trot for Ahly and I couldn't remember when was the last time that happened. Against newly promoted Gouna we were poor for the whole game. Again we created very little and it seemed there was no way were going to score. We did via Forkey with the help of some shocking defending. Gouna pressed forward towards the end and Ahly were restricted to zonal defending. They were unlucky not to get a point. Things need to change. Ahly's Coach is lucky he is not competing in the African Champions League as such results would be very damaging and would get fans on his back.

Hossam El Badry is not bad. Most of the time Ahly play better in the second half showing that he has some sort of positive input. He should focus more on creating chances and opening up opposition instead of blaming injuries. Yesterday I heard him say that Ahly players expense a lot of energy because teams defend when they come to play us. News flash Mr. Badry that's how it is and how it's been for 100 years, deal with it. The CAN 2010 in Angola gives Badry some time to re-arrange his cards and heal his wounded. I hope it is put to good use

Egypt vs Algeria: The Failure

Last Wednesday was a very sad day for Egyptian football. Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 in the play-off game to reach the World Cup for the third time. Egypt's best footballing generation ever didn't. I was almost reduced to tears after the game. I am after all a fan. Football rarely has this impact on me. It can always change my mood for sure but never frustrate me as much. I recall my eyes watering twice after a football game. In 1990 after England knocked us out of the World Cup with a Mark Wright header and when AC Milan lost the Champions League (no, not in Istanbul) against Ajax to a Patrik Kluivert goal in the 88th minute. Yeah I don't know why I cried either. My frustration came from the fact that after all this I was right. Never have I wished more to be wrong and for Mr. Shehata to prove he is the mastermind tactician he so blatantly is not. You can blame who you want for our failure to qualify, Algerians, players, referee or luck. I blame Hassan Shehata.

Where to begin? His failure was not in mismanaging this final play-off match. It was throughout the qualifications. Egypt has played the same game of football for the entire campaign. We played poorly and below our potential in all 7 games. If you bring your memory back to the Zambia game in Cairo, where it all began. We had no midfield couldn't control the game, couldn't create chances and Zambia ripped us to shreds on the counter attack. They got a deserved equalizer and if it was not for some luck they would have won. (My father told me then that it was never going to happen, should have listened). We followed this up by a humiliating defeat to Algeria. We played a decent first half with Trieka and Zidan combining perfectly but without any real menace or chance creation. After going down by a goal it all went bad. Mr. Shehata is no tactician, he panics and eveything goes to hell. He couldn't contorl Algeria and hit them on the break when it was 0-0 and he couldn't attack to get a draw after going a goal down. In trying to attack he left us wide open at the back and we got hit by 2 more goals. This was a turning point in the qualification. Algeria took momentum and self belief from that game and never looked back(they had started with a poor 0-0 draw away to Rwanda). There was a break after this from the qualification and Egypt went to the Confederations Cup.

Egypt faced Brazil then Italy and we managed an incredible showing against Brazil and beat Wold Champions Italy. Shehata inadvertently had discovered a gold mine. Injuries to all of his top strikers forced him to play a 3-6-1 formation with Zidan as a lone striker supported by Trieka form the midfield with three holding midfielders that included Hassan, Shawky, Homos or Hosny to control the game. This worked perfectly it gave a lot of freedom to the wing backs Mowaad and Fathi (Mohamady)to bomb forward, with Trieka free to roam as he pleases in midfield and the pace of Zidan. We looked scary in attack and solid defensively. Egypt's holding midfielders were not just grunts. They could pass and shoot the ball adding extra support in attack when needed (Shawky and Homos both scored in this tournament) It might have not sounded pretty but it was perfect. Only when Mr. Shehata decided to change this against the U.S.A were we convincingly beaten. If you recall we played the same game we had continued to play afterwards and versus Zambia and Algeria previously. Drained after playing both Italy and Brazil Shehata decided to play with just 2 holding midfielders and opted for 2 strikers plus Trieka. We lost control of the game and couldn't even defend a theoretical 2 goal advantage and lost 3-0 without testing Tim Howard once!Live and learn I thought, but it seemed Shehata had the memory of a gold fish.

In Cairo we beat an unlucky Rwanda (yes, unlucky. take a look at the game) 3-0 by sheer determination. Again it was haphazard and thanks to the referee we managed to score a very late penalty and an injury time goal. Due to the results of Algeria we had to win all our remaining games and then some.We went to Rwanda next with all of our top choice strikers out and Zidan was banned by our brilliant Coach because he decided to stay with his club and not show up for a firendly against Guniea that put into highlight all of our flaws both in attack and defense. It ended 3-3, Guniea finished bottom of their qualification group. I can't recall a single chance we created against Rwanda. We played poorly and luck was on our side and Ahmed Hassan scored after a skirmish in the penalty area. I said then that our midfield was poor and we would live to regret goinng a goal up and wasting time in my article When the Going gets Tough. We all regret it now!

Against Zambia it was even worse. Same game plan. We couldn't go forward and left ourselves wide open at the back and would have lost convincingly if not for Hadary. We won with our only shot on goal (more info in Zambia 0 Hadary 1). Other results meant Egypt needed to beat Algeria by 2 goals to force a play-off. After scoring an early goal we again played the same game we have been playing. No midfield, no chance creation and very poor overall. Hadary again kept us in it and Meteb scored a goal at the death to keep us in it. Luck was on our side one last time (The Aftermath for more details regarding the game)

Then came the final game. All of Egypt was hopeful. We had made a tremendous comeback. Morale in the Algeria camp has to be low. Guess what? Hassan Shehata again played the same game. It was his third time playing Algeria and it seemed he had learned nothing. He tinkered with his team again. A team he has been coaching for 4 years now. I would have understood if he started with the same formation as the last game, although I would prefer Fathi on the flanks for protection. But no way, this is Shehata. He decided to go with a new midfield combo. Not in any game since he took charge of Egypt did he ever play Fathi and Hassan as the only holding midfielders together and again he LOST THE MIDFIELD! Where was Homos? The player who started the last game never even played this one!. Where was Shehata's 3-6-1, his masterpiece? Surly he could control Algeria with it.

He opted to bench Zidan for some reason although this was to be an open game (prior to Egypt conceding). There was going to be space and Zidan's pace and dribbling ability would have been lethal. The only time he got the ball in a good position he created something out of nothing and Meteb missed a glorious chance. We proceeded to play the same game. Random play, no tactics and long balls. If he wanted to play long balls then what was the point of passing six passes before hitting a long ball? Wasting time while we were down? and if Shehata wanted to play the long ball strategy then why not get Mido to help you out. He is a real threat in the air!

Hadary also wasted 25minutes by hitting the ball straight to the oppositions keeper! What the hell was that about? It took our manager that long to notice that this is idiotic. We became much more dangerous as soon as we passed the ball around. We conceded against the run of play at the end of the half.

The second half Shehata had to do something. He decided to play Zidan for Zaki and Hosny for Fathi? As we have come to expect a straight swap.. Taking Zaki off was strange as although I'm a fan of Meteb it would be a no brainer to take him off as he hasn't played a full 90minutes for almost a year. Changing players in the exact same position. we wasted 2 changes and we did not become more dominant. The coach of Algeria tried to help us out by starting to defend too deep and taking off one of his forwards. Shehata's luck had truly run out. His changes didn't work! He even decided to change things just as we started playing better. Hani Said pushed into the midfield for support and his impact was very noticeable. The former Bari man originally plays in midfield and caused a bit of havoc with his passing and runs. Egypt missed a glorious chance after Hany had put Trieka through and Hosny missing the follow up with the goal at his mercy. We also managed one or two decent free-kicks. Shehata took off Saka for Eid AbdelMalek whose sole purpose was to pass the ball to Mohamady for the cross. Hani went back to defense. Nothing had changed from the first game. We again failed to capitalize on their 2 central defenders clearing to the edge of their own box. No one was there for the shot. Why was Zidan taking corners. He crossed 4 identical corners in the same area were not a single Egyptian player was there. Apparently he never took corners before! Why wasn't Moawad put into play. It was obvious he had the upper hand over Algeria's right back. The list goes on. We continued to look poor up to the final whistle. Egypt's dream was over.

My point here is that it was not the final game that knocked us out. We were poor in all our games and there is an old saying in football that throughout a season decisions even themselves out. Meaning; effects of the calls and breaks for and against a team cancel one another at the end. The same goes with luck we were lucky to reach a play-off game and we were unlucky to lose it. It is probably the most game we had clear cut chances in. There should be no pats on the back for Hassan Shehata though. He failed to qualify from the easiest qualification group in Africa. His 2nd seed Zambia didn't make it through the group stage in last years CAN 2008. Algeria hadn't even qualified for the last 2 Nations Cup. I remember my friends and I celebrated when we learned of the draw! Egypt lead by Shehata gifted qualification to Algeria. It was easy, a win against Zambia, one more goal against Rwanda and we would have been there. His tentative approach and inability to learn from games cost us qualification. Supporters of Shehata will tell you he won two CAN in 2006 and 2008. I tell them bravo. He must have done something right at some point.

In 2006 it was on home soil and in a World Cup year with a lot of the top teams focused on the world cup. Shehata also had 7 starters from Ahly who at the time was the most dominant force in African Club football. Not only that, Ahly was playing fantastic football as well. Hadary, Gomaa, AbdelWahab (R.I.P) Barakat, Shawky, Trieka and Meteb. In 2008 Egypt got a lot of momentum after the 4-2 win versus Cameroon and it is much easier to keep momentum when you are in a tournament. We played some good football but had some luck on our side too. We have fantastic players and we were underdogs in a lot of the games and that always works in our favor. Most of all there was no pressure. Shehata can't deal with pressure or instill the confidence required for such crucial matches. Shehata should resign or get sacked.

He will stay till Angola in 2010 I'm sure and I'm glad, as afterwards he will be sacked and we can get a coach to lead us to glory. No Egyptian coach will take us to the world cup in the foreseeable future. We have some bright lights like Tarek El Ashry but it is too early for him. The Egypt job should be given to one man and one man only. Manuel Jose. He has enough experience and rapport with all football fans in the country. He would be untouchable and if left to work in peace we will be there in 2014.

You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!

Well I was shocked today to find out that the infamous Henri Michel has returned to coach Zamalek. Him again why?

Zamalek fired Swiss coach Michel Decastel after a string of bad results at the start of the Egyptian Premier League with 1 win in 3 league games. For starters I think it's weird firing a coach after just three games , but then again this is Egypt and this is Zamalek, the kings of instant gratification. Decastel had managed to finish the previous season on a high with some good performances, but the addition of several new players to the team this season means he should be given sufficient time for the new players to gel, not happening. Decastel was also blessed with the acquisition of two of Egyptian football's arch enemies and worst role models. Zaki and Mido. The duo are unprofessional and hate each others guts following incidents in CAN 2006 in Egypt and their bust up playing for Egypt against Zambia while in Wigan together last season. Their presence alone would disrupt any changing room atmosphere. One would think that Decastel would be given time given these circumstances, but the team the media in Egypt nominated to be an instant hit couldn't wait and Decastel was gone. In all fairness however this approach is not a trait portrayed only by Zamalek, it's like a pandemic in all Egyptian clubs. After only three weeks of the championship Ismaily, Masry, Ittihad along with Zamalek have all sacked their coaches, OH and Enppi too.

Why then would Zamalek opt for Michel? Well there is no doubt with regards to his ability. He is a charismatic coach with a well found knowledge of the beautiful game. He also is the only Zamalek coach to come close to beating a full strength Ahly side lead by the general, Manuel Jose, losing the Egyptian cup final 4-3 after extra time in arguably one of the most exciting Egyptian football encounters this decade. Michel comes with a catch though. Zamalek are rehiring him. This man was never sacked by Zamalek the first time mind you. This is a man who planned a pre-season camp with the club, instructed the administration on which players to buy, even released some of the clubs dedicated old guard and then out of the blue decided to quit the club mid camp and head over to coaching Morocco (who rumor has it was willing to pay more) leaving Zamalek scrambling for a last second replacement! These actions speak louder than any words possibly can about the "man" Zamalek chose for the job and regardless of his success, don't be surprised if he pulls something similar again. Zamalek deserve better....or maybe they don't:)