CAIRO: Ahly s substitute striker Osama Hosni is eager to establish himself as a regular starter at the Cairo club, after spending the last nine years of his career as a fringe player. The 27-year-old, who came through Ahly s youth ranks, was promoted to the senior team in 2000 but failed to improve his status as a benchwarmer. Now it seems that the one-club-man got fed up with his peripheral role, saying he will leave the Red Devils should he fail to play frequently. I sat down with the head coach (Hossam Al-Badri) and told him that I m fit and ready to play, so why don t I get a chance? Hosni told FilGoal.com. Every time one of my teammates squanders a scoring chance, I feel that I could have converted it. Al-Badri, who took charge of Ahly in the summer, usually depends on a strike partnership consisting of Francis Doe and Hani Al-Egeizi. Hosni made it loud and clear that he would leave if he didn t secure a regular starting berth, but assured that he s not threatening Ahly s officials with his decision. There is a big difference between a threat and a request, and this is no threat, he explained. I have already informed Al-Badri of my intention of leaving if I couldn t achieve my objective. I preferred to tell him during the league stoppage period to make sure that I wouldn t distract him. I m 27 years old, and I don t want to spend the rest of my career on the bench. On the other hand, Al-Badri is convinced that Osama Hosni had his chance to establish himself as a key player at the Cairo club over the past years. It s absurd to say that Hosni didn t have a chance, Al-Badri told Al-Hayat TV. He also stressed that Ahly have always prohibited objection to technical decisions, sounding his disgruntlement with Hosni s statements. No player has the right to question any decision made either by the coach or the board, Al-Badri added. I do what s best for the team, but some players second guess me and this is not acceptable.
