Despite his glorious career, exceptional talent and unequalled commitment to Egypt, national team captain Ahmed Hassan has always attracted criticism from football fans. The Anderlecht player lately came under heavy fire at home for featuring in his Belgian club's UEFA Cup fixture against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv. The veteran international explains to FilGoal.com the impact of such accusations on him and reflects on some of the presiding issues in Egyptian football in this interview: Answering Critics The Anderlecht playmaker expressed how frustrated he feels when Egyptian fans criticize him for no specific reason. "Some people in Egypt like to attack personally, they just criticize for no specific reasons," he said. "I am not asking for continuous praising, but I can assure you that positive comments have a stronger impact on me. Reasonable criticism is also welcomed, but one cannot tolerate being insulted." Hassan blasted Egyptian supporters who were against his decision to represent Anderlecht in the UEFA Cup tie versus Israel's Hapoel Tel Aviv in October. "I can't understand why they attacked me for playing against Hapoel, some questioned my loyalty, others called me a traitor, but all I can say is that these people need to think it over, this is nonsense," said Hassan. "The game wasn't even in Israel, it was in Belgium. There was no reason to pull out, I am under contract to play all games and I have to respect my contract."
Hassan won the African Cup of Nations with Egypt twice (1998 and 2006) The Egypt captain also responded to critics regarding his style of play with the national team. "Sometimes they accuse me of hogging the ball, but that's a tactical matter, I am a playmaker and that's my style, I won't change it. "I have been a regular for Egypt for more than ten years now, and I think that is enough proof that I'm playing well." Ghana 2008 Hassan admitted that the Pharaohs will miss the atmosphere of Cairo Stadium, where they clinched the African Cup of Nations in 2006. The African champions have failed to win a single competitive game away from home since the 3-0 World Cup 2006 qualifier win at Sudan in 2004. "We have to admit that our away form was not the best, we usually missed our fans, in 2006 the fans were spectacular, their influence was crucial for our success. "But I think we have a good squad, I hope we can be ready when the big event starts in January. "Our group is a reasonable one, I think the draw was fair to us, we also have a good chance if we advance to the second round, because we will avoid the likes of Ghana, Cameroon and Ivory Coast." Former Egypt Managers
"Al-Gohari is an excellent coach, I had a very strong relationship with him when he was in charge of the team, I learned a lot from him as well." Hassan singled out veteran coach Mahmoud Al-Gohari as one of the managers that had a major impact on the Anderlecht midfielder's career. Al-Gohari led the Pharaohs to the CAN 1998 title in Burkina Faso, with Hassan scoring a magnificent goal in the final against South Africa. "Al-Gohari is an excellent coach, I had a very strong relationship with him when he was in charge of the team, I learned a lot from him as well. "I also worked very well under Ruud Krol, everyone knows that he helped me a lot and I am usually in touch with him." Krol was in charge of Egypt in the 1996 African Cup of Nations in South Africa, where the Egyptians were eliminated from the quarter-finals. Next Season Hassan has set the record straight concerning his destination next season, insisting that he will leave Anderlecht after his contract runs out in the summer. The 32-year-old playmaker has been strongly linked with Egyptian champions Ahli, a move that the former Besiktas man never ruled out. However, Hassan's meeting with Krol during his recent visit to Egypt, fueled speculation regarding a move to the Whites next season. "I don't want t
