Egypt fans deserve better. Going into a tournament in which no-one fancies our chances, with poor preparation, and no shining light to speak of, they still turn out in droves and wholeheartedly cheer their team on. If you were at Cairo Stadium Tuesday night, you would have witnessed a true spectacle; that is, until the national team and their (do they have one?) coach decided to spoil the occasion. Watching the Ivory Coast-Libya match that preceded it was more joyous (not because of the Libyan fans – more on those later) as the Egyptian fans, already packing the stadium, had something to cheer for – hope. Yes, hope, after their hardened hearts taught them the naivety of such an endeavor. Yet there was chanting, there was drumming, there were men, women and children, entire sections jumping up and down. More motivation for a team to go out and play their guts, for a coach to show some sense of the occasion, I could not imagine. But 60,000 Egyptians (and some Moroccans, Libyans and Ivorian fans no doubt) were left dumbfounded by the match unfolding.
No, here's a better idea. Start throwing bottles, then seats, at the Egyptian fans above you. And then resist the police's attempts to get you to leave, just on the off chance that you'll actually get to meet 60,000 Egyptians face to face. So what was the coach's plan? Defend? Doesn't seem so. Attack? Umm, what's that? Long ball? Hmmm… I may be onto something there – except you can't play long balls to no-one. Something must have been up. Up were two players – and a goalkeeper – for the challenge ahead. It's surprising the coach didn't remove Wael Gomaa along with Mido, so he can completely shock the Moroccans into submission. The removal of Mido seemed to work – half the Moroccan team was scratching their heads for a few minutes, wondering what kind of generosity descended on Hassan Shehata. The Libyans, meanwhile, were bemused. So bemused, in fact, that suicide must have been on their minds. Around 2,000 or so remained in their section after the first match, and decided to respond to Egyptians' cheering on their team during the first match by mocking the poor quality of the Egyptian team. We know that, thank you very much, now leave us alone. No, here's a better idea. Start throwing bottles, then seats, at the Egyptian fans above you. And then resist the police's attempts to get you to leave, just on the off chance that you'll actually get to meet 60,000 Egyptians face to face. Which brings us back to the fans; Peacefully walking out of the stadium, flags still waving, faces still painted, you could sense one thought on everyone's mind: give us something to cheer about.
