EGYPT's goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari has been named the top African player after appearing in 101 African matches. Al-Hadari, also considered one of the best net minders Egypt ever produced, celebrated the occasion with his Sudanese team Al-Merreikh in Luanda where the team drew goalless with Angola's Interclube to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the finals of the CAF African Confederation Cup. As he cut the cake, Al-Hadari thanked all the clubs he played in and the teammates who played with him all through his football career for their sentiments and dedicated the new acclamation to Egypt, his "beloved country and Merreikh," his club. " I am very happy with what I have achieved and I hope I can add more titles in the coming period. I was severely criticised for the many things I did but this repays me for all the effort I have exerted throughout the years," Al-Hadar said. Immediately following the celebration Al-Hadari travelled to Dubai to join the Egyptian national team in their closed training camp in the UAE. Al-Hadari, 39, is regarded one of the best African goalkeepers of all time. In April 2012, Didier Drogba told Chelsea FC Magazine that Al-Hadari was the "best opponent" he has ever played against. Al-Hadari created a huge fuss in 2008 when Swiss club FC Sion announced that they had signed him to a four-year contract despite claims to the contrary from his club Ahli. "We signed the player on 14 February and it's now up to us to find a solution with Ahli," FC Sion spokesman Lars Gansaeuer said at the time. Gansaeuer told the BBC then that a player of Al-Hadari's age and big experience "is now ready to play in Europe." Al-Hadari was fined $46,000 by the Cairo club after his attempt to break his contract and sign for Sion. He was also suspended by Ahli for three weeks before world governing body FIFA stepped in to give permission for Sion to complete the deal. Al-Hadari sought to terminate his contract in line with Article 17 of FIFA's transfer regulations which allows players to cancel their contracts after a "protected period." Scottish player Andy Webster was the first to invoke the loophole when he moved to Wigan Athletic from Hearts in 2006 when he still had one year of his deal remaining. On 20 July 2009, Al-Hadari left Sion and Europe and returned to join Egyptian Premier League side Ismaili. On 1 July 2010, Al-Hadari jumped to Zamalek SC, Ahli's traditional rival, but he was later suspended for four months by FIFA for his earlier contract with FC Sion. In December 2010, he moved to Sudanese club Al-Merreikh. During the summer of 2011 Al-Hadari received multiple offers from European clubs which made him express his wish to leave Merreikh. In August he hoped to try out for Hull City. His representative Bryan Yeubrey has spoken of interest of other English clubs in Al-Hadari. Al-Merreikh, however, did not let him go, having signed him for three years. Al-Hadari represented Egypt 125 times, winning the African Cup of Nations three times with his country. He was chosen as the best goalkeeper in the 2006 African Cup of Nations, held in homeland Egypt and in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, held in Ghana. He was also in between the posts and voted the best goalkeeper in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Angola. Al-Hadari won six titles with the Egyptian national team: the African Cup of Nations 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010, the All Africa Games of 1995 and the Pan Arab Games in 2007. With FC Sion he won one title, the Swiss Cup in 2009. He also won the Sudanese league in 2011 with Al-Merreikh, With his Red Devils team Ahli, Al-Hadari collected 24 titles: Arab Champions Cup 1996, Egyptian League 1997, Arab Super Cup 1997, Egyptian League 1998, Arab Super Cup 1998, Egyptian League 1999, Egyptian League 2000, Egyptian Cup 2001, CAF Ch League 2001, CAF Super Cup 2001, Egyptian Cup 2003, Egyptian Super Cup 2003, Egyptian League 2005, Egyptian Super Cup 2005, CAF Champions League 2005, CAF Super Cup 2005, Egyptian League 2006, Egyptian Cup 2006 , Egyptian Super Cup 2006, Egyptian League 2007, Egyptian Cup 2007, Egyptian Super Cup 2007, CAF Ch League 2006, CAF Super Cup 2006.
