RC Strasbourg officials must be wondering what sins have they done in the past and are now paying for in the shape of Hosni Abd-Rabou's saga. They are probably wishing they never bought the player; I reckon some of them are wishing they never bought any player or even held a position at the club. Maybe the prolonging, weird, bizarre and totally out of order conflict is enough to make any European club Chairman consider liquidizing his club and shutting it all down. The club which was founded in 1906 must have signed thousands of players over those years, but still Abd-Rabou's signature will be the one none of the team's fans or board members ever forget. The Egyptian midfielder did fairly well whenever he played for the club, but rather than his performances he will be remembered for the dramatic way he wants to leave Strasbourg with. Abd-Rabou's story is nearly becoming an epic one, it includes scenes of heroism, patriotism, Darveshism and anti-Ahlism and that's why I think it's worth briefly recalling its developments since day one. After monitoring Abd-Rabou for two years Strasbourg finally managed to sign the player in 2005. Unlike most professional footballers in the modern world there was a minor problem for Hosni, he couldn't leave Egypt as he had to fulfill his military service first. As if he was going to do that by staying with Ismaili, it still needed a special pardon from the Minister of Defense to allow him a one-year leave, but Hosni signed a FIVE - year contract with the French outfit. Luckily for him the club were relegated and as he had to comeback to Egypt anyway at the end of the pardon he claimed that he didn't want to play in the French second division which of course is much weaker than the prestigious Egyptian Premier League.
Abd-Rabou is a 23-year-old talented footballer. For god's sake he should be able to make his own right decisions. When Ismaili loaned him back for one season but couldn't make the move permanent as they failed to pay the agreed fee on time, Abd-Rabou was obviously considered a Strasbourg player again. In France they knew he wanted to leave the club so they put him up for sale and after accepting bids from both Ahli and Zamalek the player himself agreed personal terms and decided to move to Ahli. However, Ismaili fans recalled the brave spirit the city showed in its fight against British occupation in the fifties and protested against Hosni's sale to Ahli. Some threatened that the player's family will be in danger if he moves to the Cairo club and the rest of the epic is part of our Egyptian football proud history. Alright, Egyptians in general and football fans in particular are suffering in all social, political and financial aspects of life and football is the one thing they can openly and sometimes effectively declare their opinions about, even if these opinions were built on pure ignorance and social superstitions. But what about the player himself? Abd-Rabou is a 23-year-old talented footballer. For god's sake he should be able to make his own right decisions. Why did he sign a five-year contract with Strasbourg though he knew he had a one-year pardon to leave the country? Why did he willingly agree to join Ahli only to retreat and say he wants to play for Ismaili? Why is he surrounding himself with a massive number of ignorant and non-professionals who only seek their own interest and he lets them influence his decisions? Why does he still want to play in Egypt while he can and is capable of competing in any of the top European Leagues? I totally understand that life in Ismailia is an incomparable joy to living around the shores of the French Rhine or the London Thames or the pitiful scenes of Italian lake Como. But still Hosni should think of improving his skills in Europe rather than staying here amongst all these troubles.
