Egyptian and Arab cities erupted in ecstasy as the national team won a record sixth African title after beating Cameroon 1-0 in the final. Thousands of Egyptians wearing football jerseys waved flags and scarves, chanting the names of the players and manager Hassan Shehata. Traffic in main streets was brought to a standstill, with parades of cars honking horns in celebrations of the second successive title. "I have never been so happy before," Osama Abdul-Moneim told FilGoal.com. "This is the most difficult title in our history. It was harder to get than in 2006 or 1998," added the Egypt fan, who launched fireworks before the police on a main square in Cairo. Another supporter Sayed Abdullah paid tribute to the Egypt coach saying: "All the credit goes to Hassan Shehata; this is a great, great achievement for him." Regional Delight Egypt's success triggered festivities over the Middle East as well, with Palestinians in Gaza waving the Egyptian flag and chanting the name of goal hero Mohamed Abou-Treika.
President Mubarak with the national team Egypt's most popular footballer has made a name for himself in the Gaza Strip after he revealed a shirt with the slogan: "Sympathize with Gaza", following his first goal against Sudan in the group stage. Furthermore, football fans from Libya, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations appeared in Egyptian streets with the flags of their counties in support of the Egypt team. TV Shows The state of joy was also sensed indoors, as Football analysts in Egyptian and Arab sports channels have joined the party, with the likes of ART Sports and Modern Sports, Al-Qahera Al-Youm, Al Bayt Baytak all featuring special celebrations in their studios. ART Sports 3 invited a number of Arab singers to join Egyptian analysts Taher Abou-Zeid and Khaled Bayoumi in the post-tournament celebrations. "The victory helped unite Arab people, something that politics have failed to achieve," CAN 1986 winner Abou-Zeid indicated. Modern Sports saw anchor Medhat Shalabi dancing in jubilance with some ex-Egypt stars like Ayman Younes, Taha Ismail and Walid Salah El Din. "Who can't dance after such a great achievement?" said Shalabi, who is a also the Egyptian FA spokesman and a renowned football commentator.
