CAIRO: Mido has rejoined Egyptian football club Zamalek on a loan agreement from English Championship side Middlesbrough, reuniting him with the team that he first played for before making the jump to Europe a decade ago. The 26-year-old is optimistic about his return home, saying in a recent interview that he believes the Zamalek time will help him regain standing with the national side. Mido played with Zamalek through the 2000 season before being transfered to Dutch club Ajax in 2001. Last season, the talented forward played for Middlesbrough, which was relegated from the Premier League in May, and he scored just seven goals in 22 games. The club had paid Tottenham six million pounds for him in August 2007, and the faiure of success weighed heavily on the Egyptian. He then spent the second half of last season on loan to Wigan and was fined by Boro last month when he failed to turn up for training. “I believe a return to Zamalek will give me the chance to earn an Egypt call-up,†he told Al-Hayat TV. “[Coach] Hassan Shehata phoned me and said he considered recalling me to the national team’s squad. Playing on a regular basis will help me a lot,†he added. Mido last played for his country in March, but was later left off the squad that went to the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa where they upset defending World Cup champions Italy before bowing out in the group stage. Mido also said that he asked Zamalek to retain the services of fellow Egypt international Amr Zaki. He said they could form a deadly strike force for the Cairo giants, who have struggled in recent years to regain the prominence they once garnered. “I asked [Chairman] Mr. Mamdouh Abbas to keep Zaki at Zamalek. I wish to play with him, because we can form the most potent attack in the Egyptian League,†Mido added. BM
