Egypt's former player Shawki Gharieb has been officially named as technical manager of the Pharaohs. He will succeed the American Bob Bradley whose contract expired with the last game of the 2014 World Cup qualification in which he failed to lead Egypt to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. “It is official now. It is Shawki Gharieb who has been named as the new Egypt coach. His contract will run until the end of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers,” said Egyptian Football Association (EFA) spokesman Azmi Megahed who gave no details about the contract other than it will be signed officially by the beginning of the year. Gharieb served for almost seven years as the assistant coach of the Pharaohs in its golden era during the period from 2004 till 2011. He was the second man in the technical staff that was led by Hassan Shehata. During that period, Gharieb helped lead the Pharaohs to winning three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010. Failing to make it to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 led to dissolving the whole technical staff which was then replaced by Bradley. Gharib's last stint was head coach of the Ismaili club in Egypt which he took only last month. “I am really glad that the Egyptian Football Association has shown its confidence in me once again by appointing me to lead the Pharaohs in the coming period. I will do my best to lead the team to the old days of glory,” Gharieb told Al-Ahram Weekly. “I have high hopes and unlimited ambitions for the future. I need to build a new team to face the challenges of the coming period to prove to EFA officials that when they restored their confidence in me it was in place. The Pharaohs need to return to full force. I want to make Egyptians happy and will work to fulfill their dream in qualifying for the World Cup.” Gharieb's comeback was no surprise; actually, his appointment was expected. While rumours spread in the media that he won the post because of being a favourite of FIFA's executive committee member Hani Abu Rida, EFA chairman Gamal Allam denied the report and said that he was appointed because Egypt needed a national coach at this stage and its budget could not afford a foreigner. The 54-year-old Gharieb is a former player at Ghazl Mehalla where he played throughout his career until his retirement in 1993. One of his best achievements as a player was leading the Pharaohs to winning the 1986 Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt and taking part in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Following his retirement, Gharieb took on coaching as a career by leading Egypt's under-20 team to the bronze medal at the 2001 U-20 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, followed by another bronze medal at the Francophone Games. He then became the assistant to Shehata in the senior team. According to EFA board member Magdi Al-Metenawi, the EFA expects Gharieb to lead the Egyptian national team to the 2015 Orange CAF African Cup of Nations and to be able to at least make it to the semi-finals of the continent's most prestigious sporting event. “We believe he's the right man for the mission. He will choose his coaching staff and we'll announce that once he presents them to the board,” Al-Metenawi said. So far, Gharieb has not selected his technical staff and assistants. Meetings with the EFA Vice president Hassan Farid threw up some names but still no agreement has been reached. The names of the rest of technical staff are expected to be released by next week. Once appointed, Gharieb, who is familiar with most of the current players announced that he will focus on trying to persuade Ahli's super star Mohamed Abu Treika to back track on his decision to retire. “I need Abu Treika in this team. He is a great player and could help me in leading the team. I intend to ask him to just postpone the idea of retirement until at least 2015.” Abu Treika and other players welcomed Gharieb's appointment, an indication that it might be an easy task for Gharieb. “This is a great choice,” Abu Treika said. “He has worked for a long time with the national team and knows everything about us.” Swiss-based Mohamed Salah of FC Basel midfielder backed Abu Treika. “Everyone knows who Gharieb is. He's a respectable coach and we believe we will succeed with him,” said the talented playmaker. It seems that the arrival of Gharieb was the beginning of good news for the Egyptians. According to the latest FIFA rankings, Egypt jumped up more places than any other African side despite losing their 2014 World Cup play-off against Ghana. The Pharaohs rise to 38th in November's list, up from 51st in October, placing them as the fifth best team in Africa, up from eighth last month.
