Hassan Shehata: A Tribute to The General of African Football!

On Wednesday 18th November, 2009, and after the crucial and painstaking 1-0 play-off defeat to fierce North African rivals, Algeria, Egypt was deflated. Some said it would take months to get over this. Some said years!

For Egypt, this was a perfect, possibly THE most perfect opportunity to get themselves on the world stage for decades. And, having hauled themselves back into it literally with seconds to go in a 2-0 win in Cairo over the Algerians, and with the momentum and status the Egyptian national team carried, it seemed a foregone conclusion.

But, it wasn't to be, leading to a sense of frustration and lack of enthusiasm towards Egypt's campaign in the Africa Cup of Nations, Angola 2010. "We can't do it again", "Third time running, no chance", "This team is old and tired and bored now", "Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and even Algeria will kill us when we meet them"- just many of the general vibes that I had gauged from Egypt fans in Egypt and all over the world in the build-up to the tournament.

And this is where Hassan Shehata, "El-Me'allim" comes in! Translating this nickname into literal English is something done with great difficulty, which led to him being known as the "General". General he is, and what a man!

Shehata's appointment as the Egypt manager came with great scepticism to say the least. A normal situation, I might add, as, for the Egypt national team boss job, read the England job in Europe, with all its verve and prestige. And pressure.

However, questioning his appointment was not just a matter of criticism or objection. But, a matter of personal jealousy and hatred, with many "figures" of Egyptian football, be it on the pitch or, mainly in the media, doing their best to be heard and famous at the manager's expense; with Shehata seemingly an easy target.

How wrong they were!

First, the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil was won, and in some style, despite a nail-biting final against World Cup qualifiers, the Ivory Coast, settled by a penalty shootout. In front of a packed Cairo Stadium, and with hundreds of thousands lining the streets of the capital and elsewhere around the country, I was lucky enough to be there for parts of the tournament; though not the final sadly. This, I have to say, so early on, was the turning point of Shehata's tenure as Egypt manager. Not only did the Egyptians grasp a sense of national pride and togetherness never seen before, now a feature of every Egypt football match, but it was the turning point of Shehata's authority and credibility to boot! With the scores locked at 1-1 in the semi-final against Senegal, and with Shehata willing to put on Amr Zaki and the expense of a visibly irate Mido, a public, ugly confrontation followed. Of course, the rest is history, as Zaki headed the winner with his first touch. Mido has since played 4 caps!

Then, came gold in the 2007 Pan-Arab Games, a tournament with no less prestige due to Arab pride at stake, but with much less coverage than the continental tournament.

As Ghana 2008 approached, and with North African teams notorious for their inability to win matches in sub-Saharan Africa, let alone triumph, Shehata again faced a wave of scepticism and doubt. Once again, many media "pundits" had their knives out, waiting for Shehata to flunk at the first attempt, or the quarter-finals, before "asking him to leave", as one "legend" put it live on his TV programme.

And again, they'd be left with egg on their faces, as Egypt produced a footballing style never on show before. First up, a sweeping 4-2 win against Cameroon, with the Egyptians 3-0 up and toying with the Indomitable Lions within half an hour. The group stages were a formality therein, with Angola comfortably dispatched in the quarters before a crunch clash in the semis against 2006 finalists, Ivory Coast. Yet again, another four goal showing, rendering world stars such as Drogba, Keita and the two Toures, disposable!

The unthinkable happened in the final. With Cameroon hoping to avenge their first round thrashing, Egypt kept their calm and solidity, controlling the match and pouncing after a glorious battling spirit from Mohammed Zidan to dispossess a flailing Rigobert Song (Zidan deserves more credit for this by the way), setting up and leaving Abu Treika with a controlled finish for a 1-0 win! Two in a row!

The 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa gave Egypt an international platform, a chance for Shehata to showcase just what he has done on an even bigger scale. And, save for a 3-0 defeat against the USA following unsettling and disturbing rumours regarding the team, Shehata did the Egyptians, Arabs, and African football proud, outplaying the Samba stars of Brazil and falling heartbreakingly to a last-minute penalty. And, of course that fantastic 1-0 win over world champions Italy.

Fast-forwarding to Angola 2010, having already discussed what was to be in that disappointing, yet ultimately unlucky World Cup qualifying campaign, and Shehata and his men gripped the nation right back into football bit by bit with even more impressive performances, and with records swept along the way. If no one was watching in the build-up to Angola, some caught the fever back again with a 3-1 win over Nigeria, which similar to the defeat of Cameroon in 2008, led them to a first round cruise.

And if there were still uninterested parties then, the comeback 3-1 win over Cameroon in the quarters (who are surely sick at the sight of an Egyptian by now), will have had a few more people prick up their ears. And if not, then the sweet 4-0 semi-final thrashing of Algeria sure got the whole nation back into the frenzy in time for the final against a youthful Ghana!

Three triumphs in a row; with Mohammed Nagy "Gedo" the new hero, latching onto a brilliant one-two with Zidan in the 85th minute to finish Ghana off, 19 matches unbeaten, most goals scored, best defence, best player here, best goalkeeper there. And Coach of the decade of course!

As I mentioned, no one expected Egypt to do it yet again. No one except my brother, Samer, that is, for whom I give tremendous credit, as he nonchalantly declared that "the third in a row was coming", as we sat as a family during the Christmas break on a cool Cairo night! And to say I raised a few eyebrows at him then would be the polite way of putting it here!

We were born and brought up in England, my brother and I, you can say that English is our first language, although I would say we are bilingual. We had never lived in Egypt and have had few Egyptian friends growing up. But, our enthusiasm and burning passion for Egypt are unbreakable, reinforced with every winter or summer visit we make to reunite with extended family and friends, whose ties with them are unshakeable. And for that, I can only thank our parents.

So, teamwork, family spirit, a tangible mental strength, coupled with one-touch football based on pace, power and technique, all attributes not fully integrated by an Egyptian side ever before, in such a way that have turned them into an international force to be reckoned with, despite not making it to the World Cup.

Shehata is the reason for all this, etching his name into the annals of football history. A true legend, truly shutting any foolish critics up once and for all. And knowing him, he is not finished here, with a fourth in a row in 2012 and realising the dream of making it to Brazil 2014 most probably on his mind at this very moment.

Egypt might be sorry they are not in the World Cup, but, as Sepp Blatter put it to Ahmad Hassan just moments before he lifted Egypt's seventh Africa Cup of Nations trophy high and proud into the Luanda sky, the World Cup are most definitely sorry not to be having Egypt!

Hassan Shehata "ya Me'allim", I (and 80 million others), salute you!