A DEFENSIVE midfielder who plays for Ismaili, Egyptian was selected the best player in Ghana 2008. He scored four impressive goals in the tournament, three which came from penalty kicks. Born on 1 November 1984 Abd Rabou started his professional football career in Ismaili club in Egypt, and was the youngest player in the Egyptian First Division when Ismaili won the league championship in the 2001/2002 season. In 2003 Abd Rabou joined the Egyptian national U-20 team in the FIFA World Youth Championship held in the UAE. His skills grabbed the attention of Juventus, Arsenal and French sides Nantes and Strasbourg, but Ismaili refused to release him. At the end of 2003 Abd Rabou played in the Arab Champions League final but lost. In the same season he also played in the African champions league final but was on the losing end, too. In 2004 he was selected for the first time to play for the Egyptian national team in the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia and was one of the youngest players in the tournament. In summer 2005 Abd Rabou moved to France and signed a five-year contract with Racing Club Strasbourg. He was called up for the Egyptian national team to play in the Africa Cup in Egypt 2006 but was injured just one week before the tournament started and was forced to opt out. Egypt eventually went on to win the tournament beating the Ivory Coast on penalties in the final. In the 2005/2006 season Strasbourg was relegated to the second division. Abd Rabou was loaned out to Ismaili, playing a season with the coastal squad. Egyptian champions Ahli tried to sign the player in the summer of 2007 while he was still under contract in Ismaili. After FIFA intervention, the player remained in Ismaili after being barred from playing in the Egyptian Super Cup.
