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Tottenham man Hossam Ghaly expressed his desire to meet
his former club Feyenoord in the UEFA Cup. Today's draw
put the London outfit with the midfielder's former Dutch
club in the final-32 of the competition. However, incidents
in Rotterdam mean that Ghaly may not get to play in
front of his former fans at De Kuip.
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Feyenoord finished third in their group,
as English club Blackburn Rovers and the French Nancy
took the first and second spots respectively. This meant
they were one of seven teams Spurs could face in the
knockout round.
Ghaly spent a number of seasons as Feyenoord, who signed
him from Al-Ahly in August 2003. He subsequently went
to Tottenham on the final day of the January transfer
window in 2006. The Egyptian was subject to severe criticism
at times at the Dutch side, from a number of managers
including Ruud Gullit and Erwin Koeman. Though Ghaly
provided a lot for Feyenoord at his time there, an image
was built within the Dutch media that he does not listen
to instructions and it is fair to say his move away
was inevitable.
Ghaly - who played no fewer than 49 Eredivisie (league)
games for Feyenoord, is set to play against his former
club.
Speaking to the press after yesterday's triumph against
Dinamo Bucharest, he immediately answered a question
about who he would like to play in the next round with:
"Feyenoord", adding: "I've wanted to
play against them since we started in the UEFA Cup."
After the draw, Martin Jol explained that it could
have been both easier or harder. The draw has paired
the manager with a club from his native country.
However, it is like that the trip to The Netherlands
will be an unusual one, with Feyenoord having almost
certainly to play the game behind closed doors. The
fans rioted before their game against Nancy earlier
in the campaign, and during the match against Blackburn,
beer was thrown directly at one of the travelling players.
This has resulted in a two-match UEFA ban for fans,
though the decision is being appealed.
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