Leading the Jordanian national squad to the last-eight stage of the Asian Cup of Nations, Egyptian coach Mahmoud El-Gohari adds a new achievement to his already weighty list of record. Mohamed El-Sayed reports No one predicted that the 2004 European Cup of Nations title winners Greece would make it to the second stage of the world's best football tournament. However, to the world's surprise, the Greek squad -- who had never won a match in a major championship -- beat the host country Portugal in the final and lifted the cup for the first time in their history. The great achievement was attributed to the Greek team's German head coach Otto Rehhagel, or otherwise called "King Otto". The case of Jordan has been much the same. No one envisaged that Jordan, who had never made an appearance in a major championship would qualify for the last-eight stage. Led by Egyptian veteran coach Mahmoud El-Gohari, nicknamed "the Egyptian Rehhagel", the Jordanians held Asian powerhouse South Korea (who placed fourth in the 2002 World Cup) to a 0-0 draw in their first group match. In their second match, they defeated another Asian giant, Kuwait, 2-1 before they drew with the Emirates to qualify for the last-eight stage. This string of successes prompted King Abdullah II of Jordan to wear his country team's white and red jersey and fly to China to support the Jordanian team from the stands in their encounter with Japan. Leaving all the royal traditions and protocols aside, the king rejoiced by jumping in the air with every scoring opportunity that came the Jordanian's way. Despite their undeserved exit from that stage after a shoot-out marathon, the king was visibly pleased with his team's performance in the match that ended 1-1 in regular time. Jordan's progress, however, does not come as a surprise to one man. The success reflects not only Gohari's vision for the squad when he took over in April 2002, but as well his success in implementing it. As per his reputation, he once again welded together individual talents into a team pattern. The collective has been his concern, the early progress under him apparent when Jordan made it to the final of West Asia Championship in December 2002 in Syria. Then, his team clinched the cup of Bahrain friendly tournament, before finishing third in the Arabs Cup in Kuwait. Such an unprecedented string of achievements catapulted the Jordanian team into the 42nd place in the FIFA standings that include 205 teams. Jordan has also earned itself a place as the fifth best Arab and Asian squad. Having adopted his old-fashioned man- marking style, the Jordanians have long discarded haphazard play for organised strategy under his leadership. They used such tactic to negate the influence of the continent's bright strikers of South Korea, Japan and Iran. Their aim in play is rather unique: They strive to stifle and frustrate, the priority not being that of a goal. They then proceed to strike their winning point from the break or from a set-piece. Yes it has not been pretty, but it has certainly been effective. Thanks to Gohari, the Jordanians have notched themselves to a new level of professionalism, and at last have acquired team spirit. And what is admirable of the men, is that the players are keeping to Gohari's tactics, with no ego overriding and playing for himself, as is notorious on the professional pitch. "Reaching the quarter-finals did not come by accident. It was attained as a result of the major breakthrough Jordanian football has seen recently. Qualifying to this stage is a great achievement unto itself," said Gohari after qualifying to the last-eight stage. "My players are becoming more keen to appear in a new light," said the Egyptian coach. "They are now thinking of achievements, the most important of which is to book a ticket to the 2006 World Cup in Germany." Indeed, the Jordanian squad have taken great strides towards qualifying to the coming World Cup. Without conceding a goal, they topped their group after winning their first three matches against Laos 5-0, Qatar 1-0 and Iran 1-0. Gohari's main concern these days is to lead Jordan to the World Cup finals for the first time in their history. Despite his achievements on the local and international levels, especially with the Egyptian national team and the two giant clubs Ahli and Zamalek, Gohari has always been criticised for his excessive defensive tactics. But he always maintains that "the tactics I employ depend on the opponent team and their physical fitness, as well as my team's readiness to the match. I have won 11 championships with clubs and national teams, and that is enough to refute such claims." Despite such critique, Jordan proves again, his point. Gohari, who retired from playing at the early age of 24, will likely go down in the chronicles of Egyptian football history as the most influential Egyptian player and coach. He brought Egyptian football up to an unprecedented professional level by taking it to the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy after a 56- year absence from this showpiece sporting event. He also brought back the African Nations Cup in 1998, after 12 years away from Egyptian soil. The Egyptian legend Gohari -- the only man to have won the African Cup of Nations as a player and coach -- was honoured last January by the African Football Association (CAF). The man who led Egypt to victory in the African Nations Cup in 1998 was presented with a gold medal at the CAF congress in Tunisia. The award recognised the achievements of Gohari both as a player and coach and for his contribution to the game in Africa. He has won the African Nations Cup as a player in 1959, and as head coach of the national team when Egypt claimed the 1998 title in Burkina Faso. It is rumoured that Egypt will be scrambling to get him back. "I am under the disposal of my country," he said. "But I am committed to a contract with the Jordanian Football Association. And I feel comfortable and I like working here. I promised them to achieve certain goals, and I managed to accomplish them."
