With businessmen investing heavily to turn mediocre clubs into high-flyers, every team can nowadays dream of glory, even the most unfancied ones. Manchester City were a mere mid-table Premiership outfit till they were acquired by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) in 2008, and now the Emirati investors are leading a turnaround in the club's fortunes. After spending many years out of contention for any accolades, the Citizens are spending big this summer to build a star-studded squad and fiercely compete with heavyweights on all fronts. Similarly in Egypt, Gouna are a minnows who are likely to become one of the Egyptian Premier League prominent outfits in the not-too-distant future, thanks to the huge financial support they receive. Gouna are owned by Orascom Telecom; a multinational corporation that plans to save no money to strengthen the club's squad to the max. The coastal side, founded in 2003, worked their way up from the bottom and secured their first top-flight promotion last season. Now they aim to stay at the elite competition and establish themselves as a top-notch team. Former Ahli Men Gouna are seeking to dismantle their squad by dispensing with the majority of their old guard and signing new competent players. Nearly all their summer arrivals till now are former Ahli players who have been looking to re-ignite their careers and sign lucrative deals; Gouna are arguably the right club to accomplish both objectives.
Riad The big spenders started their buying spree by landing 27-year-old goalie Sherif Ekrami, a product of Ahli's youth ranks, from Dutch outfit Feyenoord where he failed to secure a regular spot. They later on ran the rule over Wael Riad and Amr Samaka from Telecom Egypt and Tersana respectively. Both midfielders also played for the Egyptian champions years ago. Afterwards, Gouna brought in defender Rami Adel whom Ahli released this summer, before midfielder Hussein Ali caught up with him directly from the Cairo giants. Youngster Omar Medhat also left Ahli for Gouna in quest for first-team football. More players are understood to be on their way to the promising club, who are set to spend several more millions to further bolster their squad. Gouna boss Ismail Youssef believes the wholesale changes are essential in order for his side to vie in the Egyptian Premier League. "The changes we made were natural," the former Zamalek midfielder told a press conference this month. "Playing in the premier division is totally different from playing in the second. We should be ready to face bigger teams. "It will not be easy to play against popular clubs who are backed by large number of fans or clubs who are financially backed by wealthy companies." Petroleum sector clubs Petrojet, ENPPI and Asyut Petroleum also adopt free-spending policies, which helped them cement their places at the Egyptian Premier League.
Ranieri: Money isn't what makes you win Is Money Enough? Several other coaches, however, reckon that money alone is not enough to make real contenders out of any club. Claudio Ranieri finished the 2003-2004 season empty handed with Chelsea, although Russian oil mogul Roman Abramovic invested quite a few millions in the London club he bought in 2003. "We've seen new owners (in England) come in - from the US, Arabs, and from Russia - and put their money in and they want an instant return," former Chelsea and Juventus boss Ranieri said last February. "But football isn't like that. You need time for players to bed in, to make their mark and for a manager to make your impact felt. "Money helps to buy players, but it's not all about money. Money isn't what makes you win, which is probably just as well." Moreover, former Egypt star Hossam Hassan once assured that pulling off good results is not contingent upon mega-money deals. "I become unhappy whenever I see any club pay hefty fees to sign a player who subsequently doesn't produce the goods," he stated a year ago when he was in charge of Masri. On the other hand, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is convinced that clubs' extravagance in these days is an unacceptable trend. "Football is not a supermarket. There is money in the game and I take it in a positive way," Wenger commented on City's enticing overtures to high-profile footballers. "But the football bodies have to make sure money is ruled properly and used well for the ethic of the game."
