Mohamed Zidan's staggering goalscoring form with Mainz evoked memories of previous Egyptian runs featuring the likes of Mido and Amr Zaki. Mido inspires Ajax In his first season at the Amsterdam Arena, then-Egyptian prodigy Mido lived up to the expectations with a superb finale to a triumphant 2001-2002 campaign with Ajax. The ex-Zamalek youngster hit ten goals in Ajax's last nine games of the season to play a major role in the Amsterdammers' Eredivisie victory, marking the first piece of silverware for an Egyptian in Europe. Mido's run started with a goal in the 4-0 drubbing of De Graafschap in March 2002 and ended with another in the 2-0 final-day win at NEC. The memorable blitz included his first hat-trick in Europe in another crushing win at Sparta, where the world-class Zlatan Ibrahimovic was also on the scoresheet. Mido also dazzled in his second season in Amsterdam, scoring nine league goals to help Ajax to another Eredivisie triumph. Mido again…at Spurs Although he enjoyed his heyday as a teenager with Ajax, the towering striker had another memorable goal-scoring run at White Hart Lane, where he experienced his maiden English football career. Mido made an auspicious start with a brace at Portsmouth on his debut in a 3-1 win, but reached his peak between October 2005 and January 2006 when he notched eight goals in 14 games for Spurs. The run included crucial goals against Charlton and Sunderland and a fantastic strike versus West Ham when his looping header earned Spurs all three points. Another remarkable strike was that memorable volley against Newcastle in a 2-0 home win. Zidan's 13 for Mainz In what could be the best run ever made by a foreign-based player in Egypt's history, Mohamed Zidan had a spell to remember at Mainz after sealing a move from Werder Bremen in the winter-break of the 2006-2007 season. He enjoyed a stunning six-month stint at the-then league strugglers, notching 13 goals in 15 games between February and May 2007. It included his first Bundesliga hat-trick against Energie Cottbus and a cracker at Hamburg, who eventually signed him after he ended the season in the top 5 scorers of the Bundesliga. Despite his outstanding form, Zidan couldn't save Mainz from relegation at the time. Zaki's Wigan fairytale Unexpectedly, Amr Zaki hit the English Premier league by storm when he joined Wigan on an extendable season-long loan from Zamalek in the summer of 2008, even though it was a fairytale start that ended in sheer disappointment. He hit the net on his debut in a 2-1 defeat at West Ham, before bagging a brilliant brace in a thumping 5-0 victory over Hull City. Another splendid goal which made Zaki stun fans and pundits alike was that blockbusting overhead kick at Liverpool, where he notched two goals in the Latics' 3-2 defeat. At a certain point, the Bulldozer topped the Premier League's scoring charts when he registered his fifth goal of the season from the spot against Manchester City in September. A superb run of eight goals in 11 games from August till November was followed by two more match-winning penalties against Newcastle and Bolton in December as the 10-goal milestone earned Zamalek £1million.
