On his shoulders, a load of expectations

Egypt's soccer coach goes to Mali carrying the hopes of a nation. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab caught up with the man with a heavy burden
On his shoulders, a load of expectations
"God willing, we'll do fine," Egypt's football coach Mahmoud El-Gohari has repeatedly said whenever the question has been posed -- for the umpteenth time it would seem -- in the run-up to the 23rd African Nations Cup (ANC) which kicks off in the west African nation of Mali on Saturday. God's help will indeed be needed if Egypt is to do well in a group which includes World Cup entries Tunisia and Senegal, plus a Zambian team which could play spoiler.
Aside from the difficulty of the group, Egypt's chances of hoisting the trophy a record fifth time are not helped by mediocre performances in four recent friendlies, including losses to Mali and a 2- 2 draw with Burkina Faso in which Egypt lost a two-goal lead.
El-Gohari, the only man to have won the cup as both a player and manager, refused to make any predictions, saying only that he believed in the team -- while repeating his mantra.
"They are actually three teams in one," El- Gohari said when asked by the Weekly what he thought of Egypt's current team. "We have the players that the Egyptian fan wants. We have the players who are abroad that the team needs. And we have the youngsters that are trying their luck. This is too much for a coach. I hope I can make them all play as one unit. I've seen them in training and in matches and things will be clear to fans and journalists once the tournament begins."
There have been problems other than the team's make-up. "Those playing abroad have come to us late so there is inevitable problems between club and country," El-Gohari said. "Other professional players have not played with their teams that much which means they need intensive training. The local players are not in their best form because our local league is not that strong. Another problem is that many of our key players are injured and are being treated."
The younger generation has also posed obstacles. "They lack determination. In very simple language this phenomenon is apparent all over Africa. Take a look at what's happening in Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria. The new generation wants to have everything as soon as possible. They don't want to make much effort; they want things the easy way. This is apparent in the lack of determination and in how they try to avoid extra effort."
"You can also see it in Italy and Spain which have the best football schools in the world. And the problem is not just in football but in all fields. We are trying to treat the problem by having the elders on the team guide the youngsters."
To the incessant question of what he thought Egypt can do in Mali, the coach tried some evasive manoeuvres. "This is a very difficult question for any coach because the African continent at the moment is one of the strongest in the world. In fact, I believe the competition in Africa is stronger than in Europe." He listed 10 African teams which he considered exceptionally strong --South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt and Ivory Coast. "Almost all of them have played in the World Cup and all want this ANC trophy."
"Egypt is in its best form this year, better even than in 1990 when we qualified for the World Cup," El-Gohari added, edging closer to answering what he thought the country's chances were in Mali. "We can win this tournament if the players learn from their mistakes in the World Cup qualifications and the friendlies we played."
"In the qualifications, we were the best team in our group and one of the best teams in all the groups but we had three big problems. We wasted scoring chances, squandering exactly 35 opportunities in eight games. This is a huge ratio; about 4.5 lost chances per game and we paid for that dearly."
"Second, we were weak in our defensive line. There were many individual defensive errors committed due mainly to the weakness of our strikers in the local league who do not give defenders a very hard time."
The third problem, according to El-Gohari, was the referees, and he cited specific instances of what he described as bad calls made in matches against Morocco and Senegal. "We were very unlucky, especially in penalties that did not go our way."
El-Gohari's contract runs out immediately following the ANC tournament and it looks as if it will be renewed only if Egypt delivers in Mali. That he may not be around after Mali has apparently forced him into some profound reminiscing. "I have been with the national team for 14 years all together. I witnessed great generations of football players and I believe I achieved some good results with them. This seems to be the best I can do for the national team so I hope that Mali will be a rewarding end in my journey with the squad."
He said he may work afterwards in Africa or in any other Arab country. "I would love to introduce a professional football club like the clubs in Europe, not just a sports club that includes football as one of its sports."
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