Barcelona won the inaugural Masters Ramadan football tournament but the president's football playing sons stole the show. Ahmed Morsy was there Spanish giants Barcelona won the maiden Masters six-a-side Ramadan football tournament held in Palm Hills in the 6th of October city. The five-day tournament, which ended Saturday, also featured Valencia, plus Ahli, Zamalek, Palm Hills and Al-Suqoor from Egypt. Ahli old-timers Hadi Khashaba, Yasser Rayan, Yasser Radwan and Magdi Tolba were there, as was Sami El-Shesheni, Gamal El-Ghandour, Mohamed Kamoona and Hisham Yakan, former Zamalek stars. Ex-Bremen defender Hani Ramzi as well as Mohamed Abdel-Geleil, who played for both Ahli and Zamalek, suited up for Palm Hills. Barcelona and Valencia came without their star players. On the other hand, the Al-Suqoor line-up had the sons of President Hosni Mubarak, captain Alaa Mubarak playing side by side with brother Gamal, head of the National Democratic Party's (NDP) Policies Committee and the party's assistant secretary-general. Barca trounced Palm Hills 6-2 in the final. Barcelona won $15,000 for finishing first. Palm Hills collected $5,000 for second place. Third place Al-Suqoor, after beating Valencia 2-1, received a bronze medal. In the semi-finals, Palm Hills edged Valencia 3-2 and Barca beat Al-Suqoor 4-2. "We participated in order to reach the final but third place isn't too bad," Mohamed El-Sayed of Al-Suqoor told Al-Ahram Weekly. On whether playing alongside Alaa and Gamal Mubarak resulted in any pressure, El-Sayed said there was no stress whatsoever. "We all feel that they are just members of the team and they are humble enough to make us feel that way," he added. "We've been playing with Alaa and Gamal in many tournaments for years." During the 30-minute first half, Gamal was on the bench but joined the action in the second half. Alaa was on the field from the opening whistle. "I didn't expect to win third place in this tournament," Alaa Mubarak told the Weekly. "We came to contribute with the other teams in a Ramadan tournament like every year, regardless of the results. "We were invited to take part in this tournament; that's why we're here," Alaa added, saying they would do it again if it was held next year. Spain's ambassador to Egypt Antonio Lopez, Yassin Mansour, member of Ahli's managing assembly and head of the tournament, and Medhat Shalabi, spokesman for the Egyptian Football Association, were there to honour the winning team. "The idea we had was to get international teams to play against Egyptian teams for a new kind of Ramadan tournament," Hisham El-Kheshen, chairman of Stryx, the tournament's marketing company, told the Weekly. "It's the first time in Egypt to have a six-a- side tournament and we aim to repeat it every year," he added. "Perhaps they will be eight next year if we invite more European teams," El-Kheshen added. Al-Suqoor's Mohamed El-Kot was named the best player in the tournament while Valencia's Louis Pascale was voted best goalkeeper. The top scorer was Abdel-Geleil of Palm Hills with eight goals. Matches were refereed by internationals Fahim Omar and Mahmoud Osman.
