CAIRO - The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) will hold a press conference Sunday in the presence of EFA Chairman Samir Zaher and Egypt's national team's new technical coach Bob Bradley, to explain the details and fine points of the friendly match of Egypt versus Brazil. Last Monday, Egypt lost 2-0 to Brazil in Doha thanks to goals from striker Jonas Oliviera, who scored his first international goals on either side of half time. Egypt's soccer experts argue that the match was not representative for the Egyptian team under its new US coach, Bradley; but the Egyptian fans so fond of football in a nation of around 85 million are not convinced by their reasoning. The press conference will be held at the main EFA offices. Bradley will elaborate on the game's technical points and details and present his plans for the Egyptian senior team. The EFA appointed Samir Adly as spokesman of the national Egyptian senior team. "There will be a press conference in the first week of each month with the national team's coaching staff; Bradley will answer any questions concerning the team," Adly told the daily evening newspaper Al-Messa. Meanwhile, Bradley said that the tough game against Brazil gave him a better picture. "We will carry on what we started in order to reach our goal," he said after the game. Bradley took over as US coach in 2007, after he was taken on as interim coach when the Americans struggled in the World Cup 2006 in Germany. He guided the US team through the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but they lost to Ghana in the second round after drawing with England in the group stage. Bradley's main task is now to take Egypt to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, which will be Egypt's third overall appearance and the first one in 24 years. "The Brazil game was my first practical experience with the Egyptian team. Seeing them play gave me much deeper insight," Bradley told TV Channel Modern Sports, explaining that he was only just starting."The preparation period was too short to spell out my vision," Bradley pointed out. "We want to build a strong new team and develop the talents of our players through training," the 53-year-old coach added. "We should not be pessimistic, because the road is long. This particular combination of players was only chosen for the match against Brazil.” Bradley then turned to the actual line-up, drawing attention to the fact that some players were not up to it. "30 per cent of the players could be changed. I haven't made up my mind on players like striker Emad Mete'b," said Bradley, while praising striker Mohamed Zidan. "Zidan has a promising future, he is a talented player". Bradley noted that the Egyptian Premier League was still in its infancy, since the League matches didn't reach a high point. "There are some talented players who will join the national team in the coming period," he added, referring to players from Arab Contractors and Police Union clubs. "I'm beginning to understand the mentality of Egyptian players," Bradley said, stressing that he would underpin and strengthen their technical and mental potentials in the coming period. According to EFA sources, Bradley has asked Zaher to play in two or three friendly games during the local League stoppage. The Premier League has been put on hold for the next four weeks, as the Egyptian Olympic team will be playing in the African Under-23 Championship, which is a qualifier for the 2012 London Olympics. According to the same sources, Egypt's senior national team is due to play a friendly against Uzbekistan on December 2. Bradley stressed that he would change some players and mainly depend on the experienced ones who had the ability to lead their young mates. EFA Chairman Samir Zaher said that the game against a tough team helped the new coach to get everything into focus. "Bradley deserves everyone's encouragement and support," said Zaher, urging the Egyptian fans to give him sufficient time to prepare a strong team. According to soccer experts, temporary results were not important. "The new coach had only three training sessions. This was not enough to determine a new technical approach and concept," said Mahmoud Bakr, a soccer expert. Bakr added that regardless of the Brazil game's outcome, the new coach learned much from it. "We have discovered Ahmed el-Shenawi, a new goalkeeper, who will be part of the team for many years to come," commented Bakr, pointing out that the national team also discovered defenders Ahmed Hegazi and Mohamed Nassef. Bakr noted that midfielder Ahmed Hassan had the world record for the highest number of international appearances, earning his 178th cap. The 36-year-old player shares this record with Saudi Arabian goalkeeper Mohamed al-Deayea, who hasn't played since 2006. Tareq el-Ashri, the coach of Haras el-Hedoud, agreed with Bakr about Bradley benefiting from the game. "Bradley experienced positive and negative aspects of the team and Egyptian soccer in general, which will help him in the future," el-Ashri explained. Fathi Nosseir, the technical adviser of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), stated that the game was useful for the new coach in terms of identifying the players' potentials. “Bradley must look to the future and start building a strong team. He can correct mistakes and develop many positive aspects," Nosseir added, focusing on the performance of el-Shenawi, Hegazi and Nassef. "These talented shooting stars are young; there is plenty of time to hone them.”
