Egypt's Elmohamady warned 'don't be like Zaki'

Pharaohs star hails Steve Bruce's impact at Hull City, is pleased by Gedo reunion, learns from sprint champion Bolt, relishes seeing more Egyptians in English Premier League

Egypt and Hull City right winger Ahmed Elmohamady has given an extended interview to a British newspaper about his career in the English Premiership.
"Listen, we have a really good manager, Steve Bruce has experience in the Premier League. The players he brought for the club are from the top level, like Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore from Tottenham, Danny Graham, Yannick Sagbo and Gedo. They are really quality players," Elmohamady told the Daily Mail on Wednesday.
"When we played Manchester City and Chelsea – top teams – we played very well. We were just unlucky with some chances to score. Now we are 11th but I think we will finish in the top ten," he added.
Great impact of Steve Bruce
The 25-year-old was loaned out last season by Sunderland to Championship side Hull City, where he helped the Tigers qualify for the Premier League. He made 41 appearances and scored three goals.
After his superb performances, Hull manager Steve Bruce signed the Egyptian international from Sunderland for an undisclosed fee in June.
"The manager has brought me from Egypt to Sunderland and he went to Hull and I went with him. I am proud to work with this manager. He is a very good man, I like him," said Elmohamady.
"He has always spoken to me and given me advice, even about life outside football.
"I first met him three years ago when I came to Sunderland for the medical test. I knew him before from Wigan because two players from Egypt played for them – Mido and Zaki.
"When I first came he said, ‘Don't be like Zaki'. He had played fantastically well but it ended with some trouble.
"The manager said to me, ‘You're coming from a different country and coming to the best league in the world. If you want to stay in England for a long time you have to listen to me and the people here, who have experience.' This is what I did," he added.
Pharaohs striker Amr Zaki had a brilliant start to his loan spell at Wigan in 2008, scoring lots of goals before suffering an injury and then being involved in problems with the coaching staff.
Pharaohs wingers learns from Usain Bolt
Elmohamady, 25, scored his first goal for Hull this season during their 3-2 win over Newcastle United in the league last Saturday.
The two-time African Cup of Nations winner believes he still has a lot to deliver with the Tigers this season.
"I work every day to get quicker. When I was 11 I ran 100m in 14 seconds, now I can run 100m in 11 seconds. I like watching Usain Bolt run and learning from it. I watched him win gold at the Olympics in London last year back in Egypt," Elmohamady explained.
"It's a good thing for me in this league because you have to be quick, you have to be strong," he added.
Egyptians watch Hull City
Elmohamady is delighted to work with fellow countryman Mohamed Nagy ‘Gedo', who has re-joined Hull on a season-long loan from Cairo giants Ahly, and hopes to see more Egyptians in the Premier League.
"A lot of people are now watching Hull in Egypt. I have Gedo for company again this year and our owner is Assem Allam, another Egyptian. He is a very good guy. He's clever. He brought the club up to a good situation and I hope more Egyptians come here and play in the Premier League," the talented winger said.
"I heard about this change from Hull City to Hull Tigers but it's his decision. It doesn't make a difference for me.
"Gedo is my best mate in the national team. He's a really good guy and a really good player. He can score goals here. It's very good for Hull and very good for my country.
"Players can get experience and bring it to the national team. We mainly speak English to each other – only a little bit of Arabic," he concluded.
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