Egyptian footballer (born 1978)
Mohamed Aboutrika
???? ??? ?????
Aboutrika lining up for
Al Ahly
in 2011
|
|
Full name
|
Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed Aboutrika
|
---|
Date of birth
|
(
1978-11-07
)
7 November 1978
(age 45)
|
---|
Place of birth
|
Nahia,
Giza
, Egypt
|
---|
Height
|
1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
[1]
|
---|
Position(s)
|
Attacking midfielder
,
forward
|
---|
|
1990?1997
|
Tersana
|
---|
|
Years
|
Team
|
Apps
|
(
Gls
)
|
---|
1997?2003
|
Tersana
|
165
|
(92)
|
---|
2004?2013
|
Al Ahly
|
163
|
(72)
|
---|
2013
|
→
Baniyas
(loan)
|
6
|
(2)
|
---|
Total
|
|
334
|
(167)
|
---|
|
2001?2013
|
Egypt
|
100
|
(38)
|
---|
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
|
Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed Aboutrika
(
Arabic
:
???? ???? ???? ??? ?????
; born 7 November 1978) is an Egyptian retired professional
footballer
who played as an
attacking midfielder
and a
forward
. He was voted second place in the
African Footballer of the Year
award in 2008, and was one of five nominees for the 2006 award, and one of the ten nominated for the 2013 award.
Aboutrika won the
African Cup of Nations in 2006
with the Egyptian national team. He also scored the winning goal to help Egypt win the
2008 Africa Cup of Nations
. He helped his club
Al Ahly
to win the bronze medal in the
FIFA Club World Cup
in
2006
.
[2]
Off the pitch, he has been noted for both various humanitarian efforts as well as his philanthropy in Egypt.
[3]
Club career
[
edit
]
2004: Debut season with Al Ahly
[
edit
]
In the first half of Egyptian league 2003?2004, Aboutrika scored 3 goals for Tersana. In January 2004, he was offered a position in Egypt's and Africa's top football team,
Al Ahly
. He scored 11 goals in his first 13 appearances with
Al Ahly
in 2003?2004 season (all in the league), coming in the second place between top scorers in the Egyptian League with 14 goals.
Aboutrika's efforts with Ahly led to attention from the Egyptian national team, and he started the game against
Trinidad and Tobago
in a friendly match before the World Cup 2006 qualifiers on 31 March 2004 in
Arab Contractors Stadium
. The first starting game for Aboutrika ended 2?1 for the Egyptians. He started as an attacker, but was found to play better when he played his normal position behind the attackers in the attacking midfield position. Aboutrika scored his first national goal in this game. He scored 5 goals in his first 6 appearances with Egypt between 2004 and 2005.
2005 season
[
edit
]
In 2005, Al Ahly regained the
Egyptian League
Championship after four years out of the top position, Aboutrika finished 3rd in the goalscoring rankings in the Egyptian League, while also helping his teammate
Emad Moteab
finish as the competition's top scorer. Also in 2005, Aboutrika played a great role in Al Ahly victory of the
2005 CAF Champions League
, he scored an amazing goal in the final with an outrageous effort from 30 yards out against
Etoile Sportive du Sahel
of Tunisia in a game that ended 3?0 for Al Ahly.
Al Ahly qualified for the
2005 FIFA Club World Championship
but finished last, Aboutrika told FIFA.com the reason, saying: "Our problem was that we lost our form, for some reason we could not play like we had before arriving in Japan".
2006
[
edit
]
He proved to be his international team's trump card en route to victory in the
2006 Africa Cup of Nations
in February, when he scored two important goals against
Libya
and
Ivory Coast
. He was the winning goal assistant, in the semi-final match against
Senegal
when
Amr Zaki
scored in the 80th minute. He was very dominant in that game, but his accurate shot hit the bar. In the final match, Aboutrika scored the decisive penalty in the shoot-out which gave Egypt the title.
Aboutrika led Al Ahly to the
2006 CAF Champions League
title for the second successive time in November 2006. He was the top scorer of the competition with 8 goals, and scored the winning goal in the final against
CS Sfaxien
in the 91st
minute.
He also participated with Al Ahly in winning the
CAF Super Cup
against
FAR Rabat
of Morocco, days after the Africa Cup of Nations in February.
Locally, he got the
Egyptian Premier League
in June when he was the top scorer by 18 goals, and won
Egypt Cup
, then the
Egyptian Super Cup
in July when he scored the winning goal against ENPPI in the 92nd minute despite having suffered an injury in the first half.
Japanese newspapers nominated Aboutrika to be one of the best players in
2006 FIFA Club World Cup
in Japan, the last tournament in Aboutrika's great year. Al Ahly was one of the African representatives, and the first team ever to be qualified two successive times to this championship, and the first African team to win a medal in that competition.
In the opening match of the tournament against
Auckland City FC
of New Zealand on 10 Dec 2006, Aboutrika helped Al Ahly to secure and book a semi-final date with
Internacional
of Brazil. Al Ahly won 2?0 easily, and Aboutrika capped a fine display by stroking a superbly flighted free-kick over the wall, scoring the second goal for his team. As well as netting with his delightful right-foot effort, Aboutrika was at the heart of most his side's best moves, dictating the rhythm with his skill and vision.
In the semi-finals, Al Ahly faced Brazilian
Internacional
on 13 December 2006, and Aboutrika played a good game, but his accurate shot hit the Brazilian right-hand post to deprive his team from a deserved draw. Al Ahly lost the match 2?1, but proved a good efficiency, yet the ball refused to be netted in many available chances to score in Brazilian goalkeeper.
[4]
Al Ahly faced
Club America
of Mexico, for the third place, and Aboutrika gave Al Ahly the lead with an amazing free-kick over the wall, ending the first half 1?0 for Al Ahly. In the second half, America scored an equalizer, but just as usual, Aboutrika appeared in the 79th minute with a skilled ball, he showed yet again why he is on the shortlist for the African player of the year. After surging out of midfield and finding
Flavio Amado
with a pinpoint pass, the mercurial playmaker latched on to the Angolan's return ball and calmly slotted the ball past the Mexican goalkeeper for his third goal of the tournament. Al Ahly won the third place, after Aboutrika lifted his team to an unprecedented result for the Egyptian club or any African outfit. He finished as the tournament's top scorer with 3 goals in 3 matches.
Aboutrika won all but one of the competitions he participated in that year for club and country, and got the bronze medal for Al Ahly in
2006 FIFA Club World Cup
. He was the top scorer in three competitions, which are
2006 FIFA Club World Cup
with 3 goals, Egyptian Premier League with 18 goals and
2006 CAF Champions League
with 8 goals. Aboutrika scored in other competitions, and made brilliant assistants to strikers.
To the FIFA.com expression,
[5]
was nominated to win the 2006 CAF
African Footballer of the Year
award along with
Chelsea
striker
Didier Drogba
and
FC Barcelona
forward
Samuel Eto'o
. The other nominees for the honour were
Chelsea
and
Ghana
international midfielder
Michael Essien
, and
Nigeria
and
Portsmouth
striker
Nwankwo Kanu
, who previously won the award twice. Aboutrika said in November 2006: "I would love to be nominated for the CAF Best Player award. That would make 2006 a very special year!".
[6]
Aboutrika was the only African-based player between the nominees, but he was also the only one who made an achievement for his national team that year by winning
2006 Africa Cup of Nations
. Aboutrika's brace in the
2006 FIFA Club World Cup
and his dazzling performances throughout the season made him a serious contender for the CAF African Footballer of the Year award (as well as the BBC award) and secured his place as Egypt's most popular personality. He did not win the award but achieved second place and later was given "best interclub player" and "best player in the
CAF Champions League
."
"Aboutrika has won the highest prize any person can achieve, that is the love of the people," sports columnist Hassan Mistikawi wrote in the state-owned
Al-Ahram
daily newspaper.
Former Al Ahly coach
Manuel Jose de Jesus
described Aboutrika as "the best football player in Africa", commenting that Aboutrika did not show more of his repertoire of skills while at the Club World Cup. He said: "Aboutrika didn't introduce all what he has in FIFA Club World Cup 2006, but he got the top scorer title and helped leading his team to the third place". Jose also mentioned Aboutrika as one of the best players he ever trained. He reinforced this statement, saying: "Aboutrika is priceless for us. I can't imagine my team without him".
2007
[
edit
]
In 2007, Al Ahly won the Egyptian Premier League (2006?2007) for the third successive season. Aboutrika scored 7 goals for his team, although he was injured. Al Ahly won the
Egypt Cup
2007 for the second successive time. Aboutrika was the top goalscorer of the competition with 4 goals. He scored a double kick memorable goal against
Tala'ea El-Gaish SC
in the 8-round game which ended 3?1 for Al Ahly. In the final, Al Ahly faced his rival
Zamalek SC
. Aboutrika made a one neck-saving equalizer in the last 2 minutes on 2 July 2007 in the
Egypt Cup
resulting in extra-time after tying 2?2. After Zamalek grabbed their third in the first half of extra-time, Aboutrika dazzled the stands with two great balls, one an assisted cross over the whites' defense to
Osama Hosny
to score the equalizer in the second half of extra-time in the first seconds of the game and within a minute, he surged between the Zamalek's midfield and passed two Zamalek players before providing an accurate through pass to
Ahmad Sedik
on the wing who went through on goal and assisted again for
Osama Hosny
for the late winner and holding high the Egyptian Cup. After that, Al Ahly won the
Egyptian Super Cup
2007 for the third successive time, through shoot-outs, after tying 1?1 with
Ismaily
.
In
2007 CAF Champions League
, Aboutrika scored 4 goals for Al Ahly until now, to raise his African goals to the number 15. Al Ahly faced
Etoile Sportive du Sahel
of
Tunisia
in the final match. Al Ahly was having the chance to be the first team in the World to reach
FIFA Club World Cup
three successive times, and the first team in Africa to win
CAF Champions League
three successive times. However, the two legs ended, seeing
Etoile Sportive du Sahel
of Tunisia lifting the cup.
He won the title Best Player in Egypt for 2007 the fourth successive time after 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 setting a new Egyptian record.
2008
[
edit
]
African Cup of Nations 2008
In 2008, Aboutrika scored 4 goals for Egypt in the
2008 Africa Cup of Nations
. He scored the winning goal against
Cameroon
in the final match, helping Egypt to win the African Cup of Nations for the second consecutive tournament. Aboutrika also scored a goal in the semi-final against the
Ivory Coast
, and scored twice against
Sudan
in Egypt's group stage match.
Aboutrika scored a goal in the final match. In the previous tournament in
2006
, he scored the latest decisive penalty shoot-out in the final match against the Ivory Coast to give Egypt the cup. With his team Al Ahly of Egypt, Aboutrika was the hero of final matches again, through scoring a goal in the final match of both the
2006
and the
2005 CAF Champions League
helping his team lift the continental cup.
CAF Champions League 2008
[
edit
]
Aboutrika rehealed from injury in August, after missing the group stage start of
2008 CAF Champions League
with his team Al Ahly. He marked his first participation in the group stage, scoring the winning goal for Al Ahly in the 93rd minute against
Dynamos F.C.
of
Zimbabwe
in an 8-round game that ended 2?1 for the Egyptian side. On 30 August, he helped Al Ahly to grab the 3 points from
Zimbabwe
, after making the winning goal, scored by his favourite teammate
Mohamed Barakat
; Al Ahly achieved a 1?0 win. On 14 September, Aboutrika scored the second goal for Al Ahly against their rivals,
Zamalek SC
of Egypt, in a group game that ended 2?2.
[7]
Aboutrika scored again in the final group match against
ASEC Mimosas
, a game ended 2?2 as Aboutrika netted the first goal for Al Ahly. A draw sealed first place in Group A for Al Ahly with 12 points from six matches, while Dynamos of Zimbabwe joined them in the semi-finals of the 3.5-million-dollar competition.
[8]
Aboutrika was crowned the 2008
BBC African Footballer of the Year
. He won after taking more than half of the total ballot.
[9]
Mohamed Aboutrika (Al Ahly, Egypt),
Emmanuel Adebayor
(
Arsenal
, Togo),
Amr Zaki
(
Wigan Athletic
, Egypt),
Didier Drogba
(
Chelsea F.C.
, Ivory Coast) and
Michael Essien
(Chelsea F.C., Ghana) make up the shortlist for the Glo-CAF
African Footballer of the Year
across the world.
[10]
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Wednesday in Lagos, Nigeria, announced the final shortlist of categories for the Glo-CAF Awards 2008. The final three for the title was decided following votes from the head coaches of the 53 national associations affiliated to CAF.
For the topmost honour, Glo-CAF Player of the Year across the world, the contenders are Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo), Michael Essien (Chelsea and Ghana) and Mohamed Aboutrika (Al Ahly and Egypt).
The shortlist for the Glo-CAF Best Player on the Continent are Mohamed Aboutrika (Al Ahly, Egypt),
Ahmed Hassan
(Al Ahly, Egypt),
Flavio Amado
(Al Ahly, Angola).
The winner of the two categories will be announced at the awards gala on 10 February, in
Lagos
,
Nigeria
.
[11]
FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifiers
On 7 June, Aboutrika scored in Egypt's world cup qualifier against
Algeria
in
Algeria
, but Egypt lost 3?1.
On 4 July, Aboutrika played in Egypt's world cup qualifier against
Rwanda
in
Egypt
, helping the Egyptians win 3?0, and scored the first and the third goal, making the Egyptian team second after
Algeria
, in their group. Aboutrika reached his fifth goal in
FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifiers
.
2012
[
edit
]
Port Said Stadium disaster
After the
Port Said Stadium disaster
, on 1 February 2012, Aboutrika decided to retire from professional football, along with
Emad Motaeb
and
Mohamed Barakat
, then he decided to get back to football.
[12]
[13]
Around a week later, the Egyptian Premier League had been cancelled. Aboutrika had finished the uncompleted campaign with 4 goals in 14 games.
CAF Champions League
Aboutrika helped Al Ahly won their seventh
CAF Champions League
title after scoring 6 goals. His most impressive match was on 14 May 2012. Ahly were down 1?0 at home to
Stade Malien
in a second leg
CAF Champions League
match and were down 2?0 on aggregate. Aboutrika was subbed on in the 42nd minute for
Mohamed Shawky
and in the second half, he scored his first ever CAF Champions League hat-trick, 2 of which were scored in the last 8 minutes of the match. He scored the first from a wonderfully curled free-kick from 28 yards out. He then scored the second from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute. Finally, he blasted the third from into the top right corner from 12 yards out to get the hat-trick, complete the comeback, and secure Al Ahly a place in the
2012 CAF Champions League group stage
. On 22 July 2012, he scored against
Zamalek
to win 1?0 in the group stage match.
London 2012
Aboutrika was one of the three overage players participated with
Egypt
in
London 2012
, and was the team's captain. Aboutrika scored Egypt's first goal in the
tournament
against
Brazil
in a 3?2 loss.
[14]
In the second game, Aboutrika's assist for
Mohamed Salah
picked a 1?1 draw against
New Zealand
.
[15]
In the third game against
Belarus
, Aboutrika assisted a goal for
Mohamed Salah
and scored another to help Egypt win 3?1 and claim a quarter-final berth.
[16]
Club World Cup
Aboutrika scored the winner goal for
Al Ahly
in a 2?1 victory over Japanese side
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
. A goal secured his team a place in the quarter-finals. Al Ahly came fourth in the tournament. Aboutrika became the joint all-time top scorer in the FIFA Club World Cup with 4 goals, alongside
Lionel Messi
and
Denilson
.
Africa Based Player of the Year
Aboutrika was crowned African player of the Year Based in Africa. The 34-year-old secured his third title after winning the same award in 2008 and 2006.
2013
[
edit
]
In the first half of the year, Aboutrika agreed to join
Baniyas SC
for loan. He helped the Emirati team to win
Gulf Champions League
, scoring in the semi-final and final matches. He also scored in his debut match with the team.
Aboutrika returned to Al Ahly to help
Al Ahly
retain his continental title. In his first match after return, he scored against
Zamalek SC
in the
2013 CAF Champions League
group stage
. The game ended 1?1 and this was Aboutrika's 12th goal in
Cairo Derby
, a personal record. On 15 September, Aboutrika scored his 13th goal in
Cairo Derby
. With this goal, he became the top goalscorer in all Cairo Derby matches, alongside Al Ahly Legend
Mahmoud Mokhtar El-Tetsh
. Al Ahly won 4?2 to advance to the semi-finals of the
2013 CAF Champions League
. In the semi-final first leg held on 6 October at
Cameroon
, Aboutrika grabbed the equaliser against
Coton Sport FC de Garoua
in the first leg, which ended 1?1; in the final match first leg in
Orlando Stadium
Aboutrika scored Al Ahly's goal in a 1?1 draw against
Orlando Pirates
of
South Africa
on 2 November, and in the second leg held in
Cairo
on 10 November, Aboutrika opened the scoring for Al Ahly as they went on to win 2?0, retaining the title. That was Aboutrika's 32nd goal for Al Ahly in African Competitions. He is the second all-time top scorer after Al Ahly legend
Mahmoud El Khatib
who scored 37 goals. Aboutrika provided 21 assists in continental matches too in addition to his 32 goals.
Individually, Aboutrika was named in July by Goal.com in the Goal 50 list for (2012/2013) season. He took the 29th spot. He is the first Africa-based player to appear in the Goal 50 for a second time, after being named in 45th spot in 2009.
[17]
At the international level, on 26 March, Aboutrika grabbed a last minute goal for
Egypt national football team
against
Zimbabwe national football team
in a
World Cup Qualifier
helping hosts to win 2?1. On 9 June, he started the scoresheet in
Harare
and Egypt won 4?2, and made two assists for his teammate
Mohamed Salah
. On 10 September, Aboutrika played his 100th historic cap with
Egypt national football team
against
Guinea national football team
in a
World Cup Qualifier
. He scored a goal and assisted two goals for
Mohamed Salah
and
Amr Zaki
. Egypt won 4?2 and set to advance to a
two-leg play-off
during October and November against
Ghana
, with the winners qualifying for
Brazil 2014
.
[18]
[19]
Aboutrika is the second joint top scorer of the CAF second round qualifiers with 5 goals in 6 qualifiers, and 9 assists. After scoring in the play-off against Ghana, he became the all-time top scorer of
Egypt
in the World Cup Qualifiers with 14 goals.
On 5 December 2013, the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) announced its reduced shortlist of ten nominees for the 2013 Player of the Year award. Aboutrika was one of the final ten nominees. The head coaches of the national football associations affiliated to
CAF
voted to decide the eventual winner of the award. The winner,
Yaya Toure
, was announced at the
Glo-CAF Awards Gala
on 9 January in
Lagos
,
Nigeria
.
Retirement
[
edit
]
He announced his retirement via
Twitter
on 20 December 2013, after Egypt failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
[20]
International career
[
edit
]
Summary
[
edit
]
As of 19 November 2013, Aboutrika scored 38 goals in 100 matches for
Egypt
. He debuted against
Estonia
on 19 March 2001, but had to wait for 3 years to receive another call-up. His second call-up witnessed his first international goal against
Trinidad and Tobago
on 31 March 2004. He became an essential player since then, and scored 5 goals in his first 6 appearances with Egypt in 2004 and 2005. Aboutrika helped Egypt win two consecutive
African Cup of Nations
in 2006 and 2008 scoring the decisive penalty kick in the 2006 final match, and the only winning goal in the 2008 final. Also, he is the all-time top scorer of
Egypt
in the World Cup Qualifiers with 14 goals.
2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification
[
edit
]
Aboutrika was an essential member of the Egyptian team at the
2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier
. He scored 3 goals in the first 3 matches of the qualifiers. The first goal was against
Sudan
on 6 June 2004 in a 3?0 victory in
Khartoum Stadium
. The second goal came on 20 June 2004, in
Alexandria Stadium
, in a loss 2?1 against the
Ivory Coast
. The third goal was in
Benin
on 4 July 2004 helped Egypt to get a tie 3?3 from hosts in
Stade de l'Amitie
.
2006 African Cup of Nations
[
edit
]
Aboutrika proved to be his international team's trump card en route to victory in the
2006 Africa Cup of Nations
in February, when he scored two important goals against
Libya
and
Ivory Coast
. He assisted the winning goal in the semi-final match against
Senegal
when
Amr Zaki
scored in the 80th minute. He was very dominant in that game, but his accurate shot hit the bar. In the
final match
, Aboutrika scored the decisive penalty in the shoot-out which gave Egypt the title.
2008 African Cup of Nations
[
edit
]
Aboutrika was part of the Egyptian team which defended their title in
2008 Africa Cup of Nations
in
Ghana
. Aboutrika scored 4 goals for Egypt. The most important goal was the winning goal against
Cameroon
in the
final match
, helping Egypt to win the African Cup of Nations for the second consecutive tournament. Aboutrika also scored a goal in the semi-final against the
Ivory Coast
, and scored twice against
Sudan
in Egypt's group stage match.
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
[
edit
]
Aboutrika was a member in Egypt football national team line-up in
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
. Egypt were drawn in Group B along with
Brazil
,
Italy
and
USA
.
Egypt started with
Brazil
on 15 June, a game ended 4?3 for the Brazilian side. Aboutrika assisted Egypt's two goals, to his teammate
Mohamed Zidan
who scored twice.
The Italian sports journalist
Gabriele Marcotti
has also been highly impressed with Aboutrika's performance against Brazil, and praised Aboutrika's career with football in general.
[21]
He is possibly the greatest footballer in the history of the world with a bachelor's diploma in philosophy hanging on the wall of his sitting room. He is arguably the best footballer on Earth not playing his trade in Europe or South America.
and
Does staying in Egypt make him gutless and unambitious because he won't measure himself against the world's best on a regular basis? Or, in fact, should he be admired for remaining loyal to his homeland, simply being happy with what he has achieved and not feeling the need to chase the glamour and millions of the Premier League or La Liga?
.
Egypt faced
Italy
on 18 June, a game ended with a victory 1?0 for Egypt. Aboutrika assisted Egypt's goal, to his teammate Mohamed Soliman "Homos" who scored with a header.
[22]
2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification
[
edit
]
After the friendly match against
Argentina
, Aboutrika had an injury which deprived him of being a member along the national team in the first 4 matches played in June, in
FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifiers
. He marked his national return against
Congo DR
in
Kinshasa
on 7 September 2008 scoring the winning goal for Egypt, to secure the Pharaohs' place in the second round of Qualifications. He scored another goal in his second match in the qualifiers against
Djibouti
.
On 7 June 2009, Aboutrika scored in Egypt's world cup qualifier against
Algeria
in
Algeria
, but Egypt lost 3?1. On 4 July 2009, Aboutrika played in Egypt's world cup qualifier against
Rwanda
in
Egypt
, helping the Egyptians win 3?0, and scored the first and the third goal, making the Egyptian team second after
Algeria
, in their group. Aboutrika reached his fifth goal in
FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualifiers
.
2012 Summer Olympics
[
edit
]
Aboutrika was one of the three overage players who participated with
Egypt
in
London 2012
, and was the team's captain. Aboutrika scored Egypt's first goal in the
tournament
against
Brazil
in a loss 3?2.
[14]
In the second game, Aboutrika's assist for
Mohamed Salah
picked a 1?1 draw against
New Zealand
.
[15]
In the third game against
Belarus
, Aboutrika assisted a goal for
Mohamed Salah
and scored another to help Egypt win 3?1 and claim a quarter-final berth.
[16]
2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification
[
edit
]
In the
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
, Aboutrika was the second joint top scorer of the
Second round qualifiers
with 5 goals and 9 assists in 6 qualifiers. The first two goals came on
Stade du 28 Septembre
, helping Egypt to get a win 3?2 over
Guinea
. On 26 March 2013, Aboutrika grabbed his third goal, a last minute penalty kick for
Egypt
against
Zimbabwe
helping the hosts to win 2?1. On 9 June, he started the scoresheet in
Harare
and Egypt won 4?2, and made two assists for his teammate
Mohamed Salah
. On 10 September 2013, Aboutrika played his 100th historic cap with
Egypt national football team
against
Guinea
in a
World Cup Qualifier
. He scored a goal and assisted two goals for
Mohamed Salah
and
Amr Zaki
. Egypt won 4?2.
[18]
[19]
Egypt set to advance to a
two-leg play-off
during October and November against
Ghana
, with the winners qualifying for
Brazil 2014
. Aboutrika scored Egypt's only goal in
Kumasi
, but Egypt got a shocking 6?1 loss. Yet, Aboutrika became the joint top scorer of the
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
with 6 goals. In addition to 3 goals in 2006 qualifiers, and 5 goals in 2010 qualifiers, Aboutrika became the all-time top scorer of
Egypt
in the World Cup Qualifiers with 14 goals.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Aboutrika is a graduate of
Cairo University
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
philosophy
.
[23]
He is married and has five children. One of them,
Ahmed
, is a professional footballer.
[24]
Bob Bradley
, the American coach of
Egypt national football team
said in March 2013 about Aboutrika: "Everywhere we went people would say, 'You must pick Aboutrika'. He's incredibly popular and the people love him. He's respected not just as a player but as a man. He did all of the right things to keep himself at a high level. He is without a doubt a leader for us, and he brings experience and intelligence in a way that can make a very big difference".
[25]
Humanitarian role
[
edit
]
As his soccer star status grew in Africa, he turned his sights to humanitarian issues. Aboutrika said:
"Every athlete has a humanitarian role in society. He doesn't live solely for himself, but for others, too. I like to participate in charity work and try my best to help the poor and penniless. I'm also seeking to use soccer in humanitarian work."
With that ideal, Aboutrika joined
UNDP
Goodwill Ambassadors the Brazilian player
Ronaldo
, and French player,
Zinedine Zidane
, in addition to 40 international soccer stars in 2005 for a 'Match Against Poverty' in Germany, with the aim of raising funds and increasing awareness about the issue worldwide. He scored in that match.
One of Aboutrika's soccer role models, is the Egyptian player,
Mahmoud El Khatib
. Meanwhile, off the pitch, he follows the example of the Prophet
Mohammed
.
[26]
He volunteered to appear in a WFP 30-second Public Service Announcement (PSA) in which he draws attention to the tragic fact that 25,000 people die from hunger every day, 18,000 of them children.
In October 2013, Aboutrika commissioned his own-sponsored mosque in
Ghana
when the Egyptian team arrived for the crucial 2014 World Cup playoff. The Al Ahly ace is reported to have used his funds to build a mosque to serve the people of Tafo in the
Ashanti Region
.
[27]
Sympathy with Gaza
[
edit
]
After scoring a goal in Egypt's 3?0 over
Sudan
in the 2008
African Cup of Nations
Aboutrika removed his jersey to show a T-shirt reading "Sympathize with
Gaza
". He was protesting against
Israel
's 10-day blockade of Gaza. He was given a
yellow card
for breaking
FIFA
's rule against displaying political slogans during play, and was said to face possible further sanctions, but finally
CAF
made no punishments.
[28]
Supporting Ultras Ahlawy
[
edit
]
Breaking with the tradition of soccer players standing on the sidelines of popular revolts in the
Middle East
and
North Africa
, if not supporting autocratic leaders, Aboutrika announced late that he would not be joining his fellow
Al Ahly
players on 9 September 2012 in
Egypt Super Cup
final against ENPPI, Egypt's first domestic match since this month's lifting of a seven-month ban on professional soccer.
In doing so, Aboutrika, one of Egypt's most popular players, sided with
Ultras Ahlawy
, the club's highly politicized support group. The group opposes the resumption of soccer as long as justice has not been done for the 74 Al Ahly supporters who were killed in February Egypt's worst sporting incident in a politically loaded brawl in the Suez Canal city of Port Said and fans are not allowed to attend matches.
The brawl, which is widely believed to have been provoked by security forces in a bid to punish the ultras for their key role in the ousting of president
Hosni Mubarak
and violent opposition to the military that ruled Egypt until the election in July of president
Mohammed Morsi
in the country's first democratic poll, sparked the banning of soccer for most of this year.
[29]
Subsequent controversy
[
edit
]
Aboutrika's assets were frozen in the spring of 2015 because of his shares in the Asshab Tours Company, whose manager was allegedly a Muslim Brother. Aboutrika denied any involvement in the Muslim Brotherhood saying the company's co-owner who was so accused had left the previous year.
[30]
Aboutrika's two appeals were rejected, but then the administrative court overturned the verdict in June 2016. (Discourses of Public Behavior in Egypt / Sherifa Zuhur / Paper prepared for the Association of Middle Eastern and African Studies, September 2016.
On 17 January 2017, Egypt has added him to a terror list for alleged ties to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, his lawyer told
Reuters
.
[31]
On May 18, 2024, the Egyptian Court of Cassation annuls the registration of Mohamed Aboutrika, and more than 1,500 people, on “terrorist” lists established because of their alleged links with the Muslim Brotherhood.
[32]
Homophobia controversy
[
edit
]
On November 29, 2021, Aboutrika, in response to a question about the UK Premier League's Rainbow Laces Campaign, on Qatari channel beIN Sports, made a number of statements critical of the campaign and of
gay rights
.
[33]
[34]
His comments were criticized by the Premier League as well as Fare, an anti-discrimination organization in football.
Career statistics
[
edit
]
Club
[
edit
]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club
|
Season
|
League
|
National Cup
[a]
|
Continental
[b]
|
Other
[c]
|
Total
|
Division
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Tersana
|
1996?97
|
Egyptian Second Division
|
|
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
1997?98
|
|
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
|
|
1998?99
|
|
11
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
|
11
|
1999?00
|
|
23
|
?
|
?
|
?
|
|
23
|
Total
|
93
|
64
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
93
|
64
|
2000?01
|
Egyptian Premier League
|
24
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
25
|
6
|
2001?02
|
21
|
7
|
5
|
2
|
?
|
?
|
26
|
9
|
2002?03
|
19
|
11
|
2
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
21
|
11
|
2003?04
|
8
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
?
|
?
|
8
|
3
|
Total
|
72
|
27
|
8
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
80
|
29
|
Al Ahly
|
2003?04
|
Egyptian Premier League
|
15
|
5
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
16
|
7
|
2004?05
|
26
|
9
|
0
|
0
|
13
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
39
|
12
|
2005?06
|
21
|
18
|
4
|
0
|
11
|
8
|
4
|
0
|
40
|
26
|
2006?07
|
15
|
7
|
4
|
4
|
11
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
34
|
19
|
2007?08
|
19
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
30
|
8
|
2008?09
|
22
|
10
|
1
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
30
|
10
|
2009?10
|
15
|
6
|
5
|
2
|
11
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
32
|
9
|
2010?11
|
17
|
8
|
2
|
0
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
28
|
10
|
2011?12
|
13
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
23
|
10
|
2012?13
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
5
|
3
|
1
|
13
|
6
|
2013?14
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
Total
|
163
|
72
|
17
|
8
|
88
|
31
|
18
|
6
|
288
|
117
|
Baniyas
(loan)
|
2012?13
|
UAE Pro League
|
6
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
2
|
12
|
5
|
Career total
|
335
|
172
|
26
|
12
|
90
|
32
|
20
|
8
|
472
|
224
|
International
[
edit
]
National team
|
Year
|
Apps
|
Goals
|
Egypt
|
2001
|
1
|
0
|
2002
|
0
|
0
|
2003
|
0
|
0
|
2004
|
9
|
5
|
2005
|
14
|
2
|
2006
|
11
|
3
|
2007
|
6
|
0
|
2008
|
12
|
8
|
2009
|
13
|
6
|
2010
|
6
|
1
|
2011
|
6
|
1
|
2012
|
13
|
7
|
2013
|
9
|
5
|
Total
|
100
|
38
|
- Scores and results list Egypt's goal tally first.
[35]
Goal
|
Date
|
Venue
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
Result
|
Competition
|
1.
|
31 March 2004
|
Osman Ahmed Osman Stadium
,
Cairo
,
Egypt
|
Trinidad and Tobago
|
1?0
|
2?1
|
Friendly
|
2.
|
24 May 2004
|
Cairo Military Academy Stadium
, Cairo, Egypt
|
Zimbabwe
|
2?0
|
2?0
|
Friendly
|
3.
|
6 June 2004
|
Khartoum Stadium
,
Khartoum
,
Sudan
|
Sudan
|
2?0
|
3?0
|
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
4.
|
20 June 2004
|
Alexandria Stadium
,
Alexandria
, Egypt
|
Ivory Coast
|
1?1
|
1?2
|
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
5.
|
4 July 2004
|
Stade de l'Amitie
,
Cotonou
,
Benin
|
Benin
|
2?3
|
3?3
|
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
6.
|
29 July 2005
|
Stade de Geneve
,
Geneva
,
Switzerland
|
Qatar
|
1?0
|
5?0
|
Friendly
|
7.
|
4?0
|
8.
|
20 January 2006
|
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
|
Libya
|
2?0
|
3?0
|
2006 Africa Cup of Nations
|
9.
|
28 January 2006
|
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
|
Ivory Coast
|
2?1
|
3?1
|
2006 Africa Cup of Nations
|
10.
|
2 September 2006
|
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
|
Burundi
|
3?0
|
4?1
|
2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
|
11.
|
26 January 2008
|
Baba Yara Stadium
,
Kumasi
,
Ghana
|
Sudan
|
2?0
|
3?0
|
2008 Africa Cup of Nations
|
12.
|
3?0
|
13.
|
7 February 2008
|
Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana
|
Ivory Coast
|
4?1
|
4?1
|
2008 Africa Cup of Nations
|
14.
|
10 February 2008
|
Accra Sports Stadium
,
Accra
, Ghana
|
Cameroon
|
1?0
|
1?0
|
2008 Africa Cup of Nations
|
15.
|
7 September 2008
|
Stade des Martyrs
,
Kinshasa
,
DR Congo
|
DR Congo
|
1?0
|
1?0
|
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
16.
|
12 October 2008
|
Cairo Military Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
|
Djibouti
|
3?0
|
4?0
|
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
17.
|
19 November 2008
|
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
|
Benin
|
4?0
|
5?1
|
Friendly
|
18.
|
5?0
|
19.
|
30 May 2009
|
Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex
,
Muscat
,
Oman
|
Oman
|
1?0
|
1?0
|
Friendly
|
20.
|
7 June 2009
|
Mustapha Tchaker Stadium
,
Blida
,
Algeria
|
Algeria
|
1?3
|
1?3
|
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
21.
|
5 July 2009
|
Cairo Military Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
|
Rwanda
|
1?0
|
3?0
|
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
22.
|
3?0
|
23.
|
2 October 2009
|
Petro Sport Stadium
, Cairo, Egypt
|
Mauritius
|
1?0
|
4?0
|
Friendly
|
24.
|
3?0
|
25.
|
11 August 2010
|
Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
|
DR Congo
|
3?2
|
6?3
|
Friendly
|
26.
|
5 January 2011
|
Osman Ahmed Osman Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
|
Tanzania
|
2?0
|
5?1
|
2011 Nile Basin Tournament
|
27.
|
29 March 2012
|
Khartoum Stadium, Khartoum, Sudan
|
Uganda
|
2?0
|
2?1
|
Friendly
|
28.
|
12 April 2012
|
Al Maktoum Stadium
,
Dubai
,
United Arab Emirates
|
Nigeria
|
2?1
|
3?2
|
Friendly
|
29.
|
20 May 2012
|
Al Merreikh Stadium
,
Omdurman
, Sudan
|
Cameroon
|
2?1
|
2?1
|
Friendly
|
30.
|
10 June 2012
|
Stade du 28 Septembre
,
Conakry
,
Guinea
|
Guinea
|
1?1
|
3?2
|
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
31.
|
2?1
|
32.
|
12 October 2012
|
Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium
,
Sharjah
, United Arab Emirates
|
Congo
|
1?0
|
3?0
|
Friendly
|
33.
|
3?0
|
34.
|
14 January 2013
|
Zayed Sports City Stadium
,
Abu Dhabi
, United Arab Emirates
|
Ivory Coast
|
1?0
|
2?4
|
Friendly
|
35.
|
26 March 2013
|
Borg El Arab Stadium
, Cairo, Egypt
|
Zimbabwe
|
2?1
|
2?1
|
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
36.
|
9 June 2013
|
National Sports Stadium
,
Harare
,
Zimbabwe
|
Zimbabwe
|
1?0
|
4?2
|
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
37.
|
10 September 2013
|
El Gouna Stadium
,
Hurghada
, Egypt
|
Guinea
|
2?1
|
4?2
|
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
38.
|
15 October 2013
|
Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana
|
Ghana
|
1?2
|
1?6
|
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
Honours and achievements
[
edit
]
Al Ahly
- Egyptian Premier League
:
2004?05
,
2005?06
,
2006?07
,
2007?08
,
2008?09
,
2009?10
,
2010?11
- Egypt Cup
: 2006, 2007
- Egyptian Super Cup
: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
- CAF Champions League
:
2005
,
2006
,
2008
,
2012
,
2013
- CAF Super Cup
:
2006
,
2007
,
2009
,
2013
Baniyas
Egypt
Individual
- EFA
Egyptian Player of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- African Inter-Club Player of the Year
: 2006,
[36]
2008,
[36]
2012,
[37]
2013
- CAF Team of the Year
: 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013
- Africa Cup of Nations Dream Team
:
2006
,
2008
- World's Most Popular Footballer
: 2007,
[38]
2008
[39]
- El Heddaf
Arab Footballer of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2012
- Al Mountakhab Arab Footballer of the Year: 2008
- BBC African Footballer of the Year
: 2008
[40]
- 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Final
: Man of the Match
- FIFA Confederations Cup Dream Team
:
2009
[41]
- Goal 50
: 2009,
[42]
2013
[17]
- IFFHS Legends
: 2016
[43]
Orders
Performances
Records
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Awards
|
---|
|
---|
Sports award
| |
---|
Football award
| |
---|
Sports award
| |
---|
- † In 1994, Zambian footballers were posthumous winners after their
plane crash
.
|
|