Ahmed Hassan (footballer, born 1975)

Ahmed Hassan Kamel Hussein (Egyptian Arabic: أحمد حسن كامل حسين; born 2 May 1975)[3] is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or on the right wing. He is the fourth most capped international male footballer in history, having made 184 appearances for the Egypt national team. Hassan is regarded as one of the best players in African football history.[4]

Ahmed Hassan
Hassan in 2019
Personal information
Full name Ahmed Hassan Kamel Hussein
Date of birth (1975-05-02) 2 May 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Maghagha, Egypt
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1991–1995 Ismaily
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Aswan 15 (7)
1997–1998 Ismaily 22 (6)
1998–2000 Kocaelispor 49 (5)
2000–2001 Denizlispor 30 (8)
2001–2003 Gençlerbirliği 41 (23)
2003–2006 Beşiktaş 79 (30)
2006–2008 Anderlecht 56 (20)
2008–2011 Al Ahly 59 (14)
2011–2013 Zamalek 25 (10)
Total 376 (123)
International career
1995–2012 Egypt 184[2] (33)
Managerial career
2015 Petrojet
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Egypt
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 1998 Burkina Faso
Winner 2006 Egypt
Winner 2008 Ghana
Winner 2010 Angola
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Early career

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Ahmed Hassan started his professional football career as a right-back at Aswan Club in the Egyptian lower divisions. After one season there, he moved to the more successful Ismaily. He was 20 when he was selected for the first time to play in the Egyptian national team's friendly match against Ghana on 29 December 1995.[5] After his impressive performances with the national team in the African Cup of Nations 1998, including scoring a goal from a long range shot against South Africa in the final that helped Egypt win the tournament, Hassan joined Turkish side Kocaelispor at the age of 22. In 2000, he was transferred to Denizlispor before joining his Egyptian international teammate Abdel-Zaher El-Saqua in 2001 when he moved to Gençlerbirliği. Following three successful seasons with the club, during which the team twice made the Turkish Cup Final, he moved to Beşiktaş where he was a first team regular as well as a regular on the team's scoring sheet. He particularly impressed manager Jean Tigana who, despite being known for selecting younger players for his first team, still regarded the 30-year-old Hassan a key player of the squad. Tigana stated that "Hassan is a hardworking player who is quick and talented."

Anderlecht

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After Hassan was named "Best Player of the African Cup of Nations 2006" he met Ziyad Abou Chair who gave him licence to play in foreign countries;[6] Fulham, Rangers, Newcastle United, and Espanyol were reportedly interested in signing him. However, he chose to move to R.S.C. Anderlecht, the Belgian First Division champions, on a free transfer after choosing not to extend his contract with Beşiktaş, which ended in 2006. Hassan joined Anderlecht due to its automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League and became an important part of the Anderlecht attack, setting up and scoring goals himself. His position in the midfield was in front of Lucas Biglia and Jan Polák, just behind the strikers Serhat Akin and Nicolas Frutos. In the 2007–08 season, he stated that that season would be his last for Anderlecht. His family had already returned to Egypt, and he followed them there at the end of the season.

Return to Egypt

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Ahmed Hassan chose to move to Egyptian club Al Ahly to end his career in Egypt, signing a three-year contract as of May 2008. He scored in his first competitive match against legendary rival Zamalek, in the opening match of the CAF Champions League, from a long-range free-kick. In September 2010 he suffered a career-threatening injury in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone that would keep him away from the fields for six months.

On 19 July 2011, Hassan signed with Ahly's bitter rivals Zamalek a two-year contract as a free transfer after his contract with Ahly expired. On 20 September 2011, Hassan made his official debut with Zamalek in a cup match against Wadi Degla giving a phenomenal performance and scoring two goals and helping his team defeat Degla 4–1 and qualify to the next round. When the league was stopped in February due to the Port Said Stadium disaster, Hassan had played in all 15 games for Zamalek finishing as top scorer of the team with 7 goals. He then scored in a CAF Champions League match against Moroccan Maghreb Fez with a header in the 81st minute. On 16 January Hassan scored in a friendly against Ukrainian giants FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

International career

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Hassan has played in eight Africa Cup of Nations tournaments for Egypt, winning the tournament four times, in 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010. In the 2006 tournament, he was named captain and scored four goals in six matches, the second-highest individual goal tally in that year's tournament.[6] He was named best player of the tournament after winning his second title and Egypt's fifth, a feat he repeated in 2010 at the age of 34. In 2008, Hassan captained Egypt to their sixth Africa Cup of Nations victory. Ahmed Hassan is one of a number of players who have earned more than 100 international caps for Egypt, and is currently the third most capped male player for any country. He also holds the record for most Africa Cup of Nations won by any player in history.

Hassan broke Hossam Hassan's appearance record with his 170th cap for Egypt on 25 January 2010 in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter final against Cameroon. He had an eventful game: he headed an Achille Emaná corner into his own net (though Emana was credited with the goal); equalized from long range and claimed the final goal in a 3–1 win in extra time from a free-kick despite replays showing the ball did not cross the line.[7] On 31 January 2010, Hassan picked up his fourth Africa Cup of Nations winners's medal as Egypt defeated Ghana 1–0 in the final.[8] In November 2011, Hassan played his 178th game for Egypt in a friendly against Brazil. In doing so he matched the record for international appearances.[9] On 27 March 2012, Hassan started a friendly match against Kenya earning 184 international appearances.

Personal life

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Hassan was selected as an ambassador for the Holland–Belgium 2018 or 2022 World Cup bid[10] along with Ruud Gullit.[11] Hassan was the honorary president of the 2015 edition of the SATUC Football Cup, an international football competition for refugees and orphans.[12]

Career statistics

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International

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National team Year Apps Goals
Egypt 1995 1 0
1996 7 1
1997 15 2
1998 13 1
1999 12 1
2000 14 0
2001 18 2
2002 8 0
2003 8 3
2004 10 4
2005 8 2
2006 13 5
2007 8 1
2008 17 3
2009 15 3
2010 10 4
2011 3 0
2012 6 1
Total 184 33
Scores and results list Egypt's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hassan goal.[13][2]
List of international goals scored by Ahmed Hassan
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 November 1996 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Namibia 2–0 7–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 27 July 1997 Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt   Ethiopia 7–1 8–1 1998 African Cup of Nations qualification
3 18 December 1997 Aswan Stadium, Aswan, Egypt   Togo 2–0 7–2 Friendly
4 28 February 1998 Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso   South Africa 1–0 2–0 1998 Africa Cup of Nations
5 27 July 1999 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico   Mexico 1–2 2–2 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup
6 14 January 2001 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Libya 2–0 4–0 2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
7 3–0
8 12 February 2003 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Denmark 1–0 1–4 Friendly
9 8 June 2003 Port Said Stadium, Port Said, Egypt   Mauritius 6–0 7–0 2004 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
10 7–0
11 8 January 2004 Port Said Stadium, Port Said, Egypt   Rwanda 4–0 5–1 Friendly
12 5–0
13 4 July 2004 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin   Benin 1–2 3–3 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
14 5 September 2004 Arab Contractors Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Cameroon 2–0 3–2 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
15 27 March 2005 Arab Contractors Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Libya 3–1 4–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
16 27 May 2005 Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait   Kuwait 1–0 1–0 Friendly
17 20 January 2006 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Libya 3–0 3–0 2006 Africa Cup of Nations
18 3 February 2006 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   DR Congo 1–0 4–1 2006 Africa Cup of Nations
19 4–1
20 7 February 2006 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Senegal 1–0 2–1 2006 Africa Cup of Nations
21 2 September 2006 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Burundi 4–0 4–1 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
22 3 June 2007 Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania   Mauritania 1–1 1–1 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
23 5 January 2008 Aswan Stadium, Aswan, Egypt   Namibia 2–0 3–0 Friendly
24 6 June 2008 El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium, Djibouti, Djibouti   Djibouti 3–0 4–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
25 12 October 2008 Cairo Military Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Djibouti 2–0 4–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
26 23 January 2009 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   Kenya 1–0 1–0 Friendly
27 5 September 2009 Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda   Rwanda 1–0 1–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
28 2 October 2009 Petro Sport Stadium, New Cairo, Egypt   Mauritius "|2–0 4–0 Friendly
29 12 January 2010 Estádio Nacional de Ombaka, Benguela, Angola   Nigeria 3–1 3–1 2010 Africa Cup of Nations
30 "|25 January 2010 Estádio Nacional de Ombaka, Benguela, Angola   Cameroon 2–1 3–1 2010 Africa Cup of Nations
31 3–1
32 11 August 2010 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt   DR Congo 5–1 6–3 Friendly
33 27 February 2012 Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar   Kenya 2–0 5–0 Friendly

Honours

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Ismaily

Beşiktaş

Anderlecht[14]

Al Ahly

Zamalek

Egypt

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Player Profile". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Ahmed Hassan – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. ^ RSCA.BE, Official website of RSC Anderlecht Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Dove, Ed. "The 50 Greatest African Players of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. ^ MTNfootball.com – MTN Africa Cup of Nations – Player Profile: Ahmed Hassan (Egypt) Archived 20 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b "FIFA.com The Official web site of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association". 18 July 2006. Archived from the original on 18 July 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Egypt 3–1 Cameroon". BBC Sport. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  8. ^ Wilson, Jonathan (1 February 2010). "Egypt in seventh heaven as they conquer Africa again". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2 February 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  9. ^ Egypt's Ahmed Hassan equals international appearance record BBC Sport. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  10. ^ Gullit Appointed President of Holland-Belgium World Cup Bid; Cruyff Named Ambassador Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine 9 February 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  11. ^ Gullit Named President Of Netherlands – Belgium Cup Bid The New York Times. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2010. [dead link]
  12. ^ "Ahmed Hassan appointed as Honourary President of the 2015 SATUC Cup". SATUC Football Cup. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Ahmed Hassan". National Football Teams. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  14. ^ "SEVENTEEN SPORTS". www.seventeensports.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Ahmed Hassan: African Player of the Year". CAF. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010.
  16. ^ Ahmad Hassan named best African-based Player of the year 2010 20 December 2010.
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