Doaa El-Bey shared Egypt's joy after the country won the Africa Cup of Nations. There was, though, no pleasure reaped from the deteriorating situation in Yemen The papers rejoiced along with millions of Egyptians following the historic victory over Ghana and the well deserved African cup won for the third consecutive time. Newspapers ran full- length pages about the success story. 'Egyptians, kings of Africa for the seventh time' bannered Al-Ahram. 'The cup for Egypt, the Pharaohs and kings of African football defeat Ghana and win the title for the third time in a row', crowed Al-Akhbar. In Nahdet Masr : 'Egypt welcomes the champions'. Al-Masry Al-Yom, which described the team as happiness makers, said 'Egypt wears the African crown for the third time' and from Al-Wafd, 'Gedo, the new Abu Treika, keeps the African cup in the hands of the Pharaohs'. The editorial of the official daily Al-Ahram described the victory as the moment in which all the world showed respect for Egypt, the crowned champion of African football. "It is amazing that the Egyptian team mercilessly vanquished the teams that qualified for the World Cup, starting from the Super Eagles of Nigeria to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and ending with Algeria and Ghana," the edit read. It noted that everybody praised the Egyptian performance including FIFA and The Guardian newspaper. The edit said there was no exaggeration in this praise because ahead of the latest historic victory, the national team had gone 18 consecutive matches without defeat spanning four African championships. The edit underlined how the Egyptians behaved in a civilised manner during victory and ascribed their repeated wins to a public who have always been united under the Egyptian banner. As a result, they never ceased to amaze the world by their achievements and their ability to conquer the impossible and realise victories that surprised foes more than friends. Abdallah Hassan wrote that the well deserved Egyptian victory over Algeria restored respect to Egyptian football that has a long history. It also proved that football always gives whoever exerts real effort, preserves sports ethics and believes in the role of sports in spreading healthy competition. Although Hassan said it was expected Algeria would put all the blame on the referee who expelled three of its players in the loss to Egypt, he partially ascribed the Algerian defeat to their rough play and intention to cause deliberate harm to Egyptian players. Hassan added in the official weekly Akhbar Al-Yom that while all Arab states will support Algeria in the World Cup, he hoped that the team would learn its lesson and focus on playing football rather than attacking the opposing team. Mahmoud Omara seized the opportunity of the Egyptian victory in the African cup especially its 4-0 victory over Algeria to address a few questions to President Hosni Mubarak: isn't the championship, in which millions of Egyptians hoisted the Egyptian flag, proof enough that they still have a sense of belonging to their country and that they are ready and willing to take part in any national project that would help it to progress? Why does the president insist on keeping on a failed government that lacks any capabilities and does not have a vision for the future? "Why do you insist on playing with a 'governmental team' that is incapable of winning or even tying any match?" Omara asked in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom. He also asked what would happen if President Mubarak declared one day that he would amend articles 76 and 77 in the constitution, issue the house of worship common law, choose a 'coach' prime minister who would be given complete freedom to work and then be questioned every 12 months, and exclude any businessman from political or partisan work until he sells or dissolves his private business to avoid a conflict of interest. He added that this could open a new page of "major awakening" which Mubarak himself called for during the 1980s. If the citizen feels there is a serious attempt to push Egypt forward, he will be more than willing to participate. It is not too late but the ball is now in the president's court, Omara concluded. Mohamed Amin asked whether the mission of our national team in Angola was national or mere sports. He expressed his amazement that some newspapers described it as a national mission. If that is the case, he wrote, then the team coach Hassan Shehata could have been tried in a military court when he was defeated in Sudan by Algeria in the World Cup qualifier and Algeria could have been accused of treason. The mission of the team was one of sports that brought happiness to all Egyptians, Amin wrote. And Shehata is the national team coach, not a military commander who should be tried if he fails. "We hailed and sang for the national team and considered his mission a national one because we do not have any other project in our minds except football," Amin explained in the daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the opposition Wafd Party. Reda Mahmoud noted the biased commentary on Al-Jazeera satellite channel especially during Egypt's match against Algeria. Mahmoud wrote in the official daily Al-Akhbar that he believed there was no such thing called unbiased media. Nevertheless, he was under the impression at a certain point that Al-Jazeera was trying to deliver exemplary media coverage. But, he realised his mistake when he saw how unhappy the presenters were in a programme aired after Egypt's match against Algeria in which they tried to focus on the reasons for the Algerian defeat rather than the Egyptian victory. In another example of less than objective coverage, according to Mahmoud, the channel aired a programme in which the Algerians were allowed to call the channel to discuss the reason for their defeat. Al-Masry Al-Yom wrote in its back page that some 2,000 young Facebook members called for a statue to be made of Shehata and erected in one of the major roundabouts, or naming a street after him in recognition of his historic achievement. But would these people have suggested the same had the national team not won the African cup?
