Tottenham won against Sporting Braga 3-2 at White Hart Lane, taking them into the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup with a 6-4 aggregate win. Perhaps more importantly, Martin Jol praised Ahmed Hossam before the game on English television. Moreover, he denied allegations that the board made him drop the Egyptian from the game against Chelsea.

Read also:

• Play Me and I Will Score, Promises Mido!
• Mido desires Spurs stay
• Mido Assists Twice in Away Triumph
• Egyptians Set to Meet
• Spurs to Face Leaders
• Thirty Minutes Away From Moving
• Mido Scores and Shows What He Can Offer
• Jol Hints: No Mido Sale
• Mido Man City Move and Distin to Depart to Spurs
• Take Two- Celta want Mido on loan
• Reports- Manchester City want "forgotten man" Mido
• FIFA Rules: No Mido Transfer
• Mido to Celta Vigo: A Dream Or A Reality?
• Celta to vi-Go for Mido?
• Jol To Mido: You're Sub to Berbatov
• Paper Claims Mido Dispute & Attempts to Offload Him
• English Newspaper: Jol Doesn't Want Mido
• Jol Made "Good Lad" Mido Play

Hossam Ghaly came on for 9 minutes but didn't need to do much. He played a few simple passes as Spurs wore down the clock.

Braga had managed to equalise twice, after Berbatov had given Spurs two consecutive leads. He finished clinically for the first goal, before chesting and smacking a volley into the net for his second.

In the 76th minute Steed Malbranque controlled and lofted Berbatov's neat assist beyond the keeper to keep Spurs' run up. The victory in Portugal last week saw them break the record for any English team's run in a European competition: seven wins in a row. They now have eight.

EP Ratings:

Tottenham: Cerny 5, Stalteri 6, Dawson 7, Chimbonda 7, Young-Pyo Lee 6, Lennon 7 (Ghaly 81' ?), Huddlestone 5, Zokora 6, Malbranque 7, Keane 7 (Defoe 66' 5), Berbatov 9.

Berbatov-Mania:

Mido was fit for the game, it is thought, but was kept on the bench. Berbatov was not expected to be fully ready, but proved that he either was, or doesn't need to be.

The scenario is a stark reminder of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Didier Drogba's rise to fame at Ajax and Marseille respectively. Indeed, Berbatov was already a proven world class striker, but he is taking any possible lime-light away from Mido, particularly as Jol prefers a smaller striker alongside the Bulgarian.

Prior to the game, Spurs fans were interviewed about their finest player, and almost all responded with Berbatov. He is being dubbed the signing of the season in England and is regarded the best striker Spurs have had since Jurgen Klinsmann.

With 19 goals so far this season, he is catching all sorts of headlines and praise in British newspapers and media, only comparable to those Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo and English players such as Wayne Rooney and John Terry get. To add to the articles devoted to his praise, the latest polls are even asking whether he will be a Spurs player next season, or whether Chelsea or Manchester United will grab the former Leverkusen man.

"Don't Forget Mido," insists Jol:

But at the same time, Martin Jol chose to concentrate on Mido in his brief post-match interview with English television channel ITV1. When asked about Spurs' fine form, the Dutch coach replied that it has indeed been great, and that Berbatov is getting the headlines, adding that "it must be hard for Mido."

He went on to say: "He (Mido) was great for us last season and scored many goals.

"Don't forget Mido is a very good striker and did a lot to get us here."

Did The Tottenham Board Drop Mido?:

But it hasn't been that simple. Even when Mido has been fit and Berbatov expected to be rested, the Egyptian hasn't played. A few days ago, allegations were made that the Spurs board forced Jol to start Berbatov against Chelsea, even though he didn't want to.

After the FA Cup game, a number of news reports claimed that the "club's hierarchy" made Berbatov start the game. The board were keen on winning the tie at Stamford Bridge and felt Berbatov would be a better man for the job, though Jol wanted to rest him.

A number of papers confirmed that Mido was told he was starting the game against Chelsea. It is quoted by one paper that "the Egyptian was not pleased to be taken out of the team" after the manager had told him he was playing. Perhaps the praise on English TV was a way of appeasing Mido...

Martin Jol denied these allegations in the Wednesday newspapers, stressing that only he picks the team.

These denials are undermined somewhat by the fact he didn't feature Mido in the game against Sporting Braga the next day.

EgyptianPlayers.com will keep you updated...

• Discuss the latest about our professionals abroad in EP forums
• Read Mido reports in Mido's page
• Download Mido's goals with Ajax, Celta Vigo and Marseille from multimedia page
• Check this special offer: 1000MB 50GB Web Hosting for only $9.95/month with no contracts. PHP4, MYSQL, CGI, SSH all included. Click here!