Reporters looked cautious, waiting for an outburst or an angry reaction from Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' as they flooded him with provocative questions in Egypt's training camp ahead of the 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi. To their astonishment, Mido kept a cool head, a state of mind he rarely enjoyed since launching his career as a professional footballer in the late 90s. "If you counted my international goals in comparison to my caps, you will find out that I have a very good scoring percentage," Mido replied a reporter who accused him of not being as useful to the national team as to his several European clubs. "Moreover, I am still young and will play for Egypt and contribute to its accomplishments for many years to come," a relaxed Mido added. He was actually right. The 23-year-old striker netted 18 times for Egypt in 44 international matches, scoring his first international goal on debut against United Arab Emirates in January 2001. This newly-adopted attitude may be an indication that the much-traveled player is determined to drop the bad-boy image. Once a Troublemaker Mido is last remembered of his touchline spat with coach Hassan Shehata during Egypt's 2-1 victory over Senegal in the African Cup of Nations earlier this year. "My relation with manager Hassan Shehata is good and our problem in the African Cup of Nations has been totally forgotten. "We always talk to each other and everything is normal. He proved this when he called me up for Egypt's first competitive match after the tournament." He has reportedly fallen out with Roma captain Francesco Totti, claims that were strengthened by Mido's departure to Tottenham Hotspur. But the former Zamalek star said he sought a long pause from troubles to pay more attention to the game.
Mido's relationship with Shehata is back to normal "Reports of a fight between me and Totti are totally untrue and manager Luciano Spalletti wanted me to stay till Tottenham tabled an irresistible offer," the former Ajax ace said. Mido hopes that rejoining Tottenham on permanent basis gives him the chance to play regularly, something that was vital to all his previous success stories. A More Mature Mido In 2000, Mido's starting status inspired him to score 11 goals in 21 appearances for Belgian club Gent and attracted attention from top clubs in Europe. He also excelled with Ajax Amsterdam throughout the following two seasons as his 38 goals in 70 games made him the fans' idol. The fairytale came to an end when coach Ronald Koeman decided to relegate him to the bench where Mido didn't feel so comfortable and said he wanted a move out of the Amsterdam Arena. Mido's exit from Roma was much similar as German boss Rudi Voeller, who brought him to the eternal city, resigned after just four games in charge. With his successor Luigi Del Neri depending more on veteran Italian striker Vincenzo Montella, Mido preferred a quick fix for his situation and parted ways with Roma in January. Now, Mido seems to have refined his anti-bench theory. "I am not afraid of competition with Tottenham forwards Robbie Keane, Jermaine Defoe and Dimitar Berbatov because all big clubs have to keep their options open," he said. "European clubs play about 60 games per season and featuring in 40 of them would be good for me." And he wants to make his appearances, no matter how many they are, even more successful than his 18-month loan when he was Tottenham's third scorer with 14 goals. "I have always wished to come back to White Hart Lane. I still have many targets to achieve," said the ambitious Egypt after resigning for Spurs.
