CAIRO: Eskisehirspor defender Abdel-Zaher Al-Saqqa reckons he put on his finest performance this term in his side s 1-0 win over Galatasaray in the Turkish Super League on Sunday. The Egyptian defender played the whole 90 minutes and was instrumental in helping Eskisehirspor keep a clean sheet despite their numerical disadvantage, after the dismissal of Safet Nadarevic early in the second period. We didn t expect to win at Galatasaray. They are in contention for the league title and defeating them seemed way far-fetched, Al-Saqqa said in a statement sent to FilGoal.com. The numerical disadvantage made our mission even harder, we barely survived their onslaught. Eskisehirspor s win at Galatasaray was the first ever on all Turkish fronts, which makes the narrow victory more emphatic. Al-Saqqa, 35, revealed that he's eager to return to the Egyptian national team, saying he s doing his best with Eskisehirspor to earn a call-up for Hassan Shehata s side. I regularly feature in the Turkish League and play all games without getting substituted, he said. I have been praised by Turkish media, and Eskisehirspor coaching staff lauded my capabilities more than once. But eventually I respect all the decisions of Egypt s technical staff. According to the veteran footballer, Shehata would name him in the Pharaohs squad should he keep up his level.
