|
Mohamed Zidan has been given the
title Best Arab Footballer in Europe by a top magazine,
which named its top ten. Ahmed Hassan was also awarded
3rd place and Mido 7th. Moreover, Zizou spoke to the
magazine in his usual honesty.
Read also:
.jpg)
NOX Magazine, the top English language
men's magazine in the Arab world, looked at the top
ten Arab players currently in Europe ahead of the season
that has just begun.
Its awards were as follows:
10 Mohamed El Yaagoubi "Moha" - Morocco
9 Hatem Trabelsi - Tunisia
8 Karim Haggui - Tunisia
7 AHMED HOSSAM "MIDO" - EGYPT
6 Radhi Jaidi - Tunisia
5 Nadir Belhadj - Algeria
4 Marouane Chamakh - Morocco
3 AHMED HASSAN - EGYPT
2 Mbark Bossoufa - Morocco
1 MOHAMED ZIDAN - EGYPT
Mido, it said, is still young but must concentrate
and mature if he is to match his potential. The writer
listed what he called "Mido Madness": a history
of the player's more infamous events so far in his career.
Ahmed Hassan was praised for his ten years in Europe
and the serious effect he has on every team he plays
for, including the Egyptian national side.
The magazine also conducted a huge interview with Zidan,
in which he spoke about his past as well as his ambitions
for the future.
An extract of the interview is below:
Moreover, he is confident whenever "Zidan"
is mentioned in football conversations the question
"Which one?" will soon follow. "His name
put pressure on me," he says, taking a break from
his summer training camp with his new colleagues. "But
I don't like to copy anyone. I like to be myself.
I just have him as a role-model because he's the best
player I've seen in front of me and his life is full
of success. But I too am now famous as 'Zidan' in Europe."
The summer move, which should put more money in his
pocket than any Egyptian footballer other than Mido,
will give him the platform to prove it. Signing for
Hamburg represents the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.
"I've loved football since I was really little,"
he says. "From the age of four or five I used to
always play football in the street under our house."
His journey to Europe began when his mother had agreed
to take him, then 17, with her to Denmark on a business
trip to buy car parts for the family business. "I
travelled with a tourist visa to Denmark," Zidan
recalls, enabling him to stay for three months. "I
went there just hoping to get a chance to play football."
Second Division team B93 took him on without pay, but
he needed a professional contract if he was to stay
in the country. Staff at First Division club AB Copenhagen
were immediately convinced by his abilities. Zidan had
negotiated his first hurdle.
|
