Shikabala to leave Zamalek in January 2012

Standard Liege-target Shikabala said on Thursday his Zamalek adventure would come to an end anyway when his 'valid contract' expires in January 2012. Belgian side Standard had a €2.5 million bid for the talented forward turned down by Zamalek on Wednesday. The Cairo club said they would give Standard 10 days to make an improved offer or lose any hopes of signing Shikabala when the transfer window re-opens in January. But speaking to FilGoal.com, the media shy Shikabala revealed that he already decided to depart Zamalek regardless of the outcome of their negotiations with Standard. "I will honor my contract with Zamalek if my move to Standard fails," he said. "However, I will leave the club once this contract ends in the middle of next season. "Zamalek have every right to ask for a specific amount of money to sell me and I have every right to fulfill my dream of playing in Europe." The White Knights said in August that they extended the deal of Shikabala to end speculation regarding his future after Anderlecht, Standard's compatriots, relentlessly pursued him in the close season. However, administrative problems prevented them from registering the new contract with the Egyptian FA. They should now convince Shikabala to sign a new deal, a possibility that looks very remote. "Zamalek want €5 million to sell Shikabala, this is a very excessive demand," the 24-year-old's agent Samir Abdul-Tawab said. Shikabala has been an integral member of Zamalek's squad since rejoining his boyhood club in 2006 after ending a two-year spell with Greek side PAOK. But he is consistently criticized for failing to live up to his potential due to some childish acts on and off the pitch. He won with Zamalek one title during his spell at the club – the Egyptian Cup in 2008.

Zamalek count the cost of league break

Zamalek can't find enough players to arrange friendly games during the Egyptian Premier League's break, coach Hossam Hassan said. The premier domestic competition is stopped for 25 days to allow Egypt to prepare for their anticipated African Cup of Nations qualifier against Niger on Sunday. Cairo giants Ahli will also meet Tunisia's Esperance in the second leg of the African Champions League semi finals. The Egyptian U-20 and Olympic teams made the most of the long break by arranging friendly games, leaving Hossam Hassan with shortage of options. "Zamalek are one of the most affected teams by the break," the Egypt's all-time top scorer told FilGoal.com. "There are many players who were called up to the Egyptian national teams from my team. "I can't even play any friendly games during that break." Fifteen Zamalek players were called up to the Egyptian senior, Olympic, U-20 and military teams. The White Knights made a disappointing start to their season but notably improved before the break. They secured three successive victories to move second in the table with 14 points from seven games, one behind leaders and surprise package Police Union.

Hossam Hassan relieved after hard-fought win

Zamalek coach Hossam Hassan was relieved after his side overturned a two-goal deficit to defeat promoted MCDR 4-3 despite committing numerous errors. The Cairo giants appeared vulnerable at the back and wasteful upfront but still managed to secure a third successive Egyptian Premier League victory at the expense of a brave MCDR side. "I'm happy with the spirit of my players and their determination to win although they made many mistakes," Hassan told the post-match news conference. "Our opponents were stubborn and difficult to beat. I did not expect that scenario." MCDR took Zamalek by surprise, claiming a two-goal lead after 35 minutes through goals from skilful playmaker Ayman Hefni and striker Ayman Kamal. Shikabala and substitute Ahmed Gaafar, who was introduced late in the first half instead of Qatari winger Hussein Yasser, scored two goals in quick succession to level the score just before the break. Zamalek's defensive fragilities cost them again as Hussein Hamdi restored MCDR's advantage nine minutes past the hour but towering striker Gaafar struck again few minutes later to equalize. A trademark header from central defender Mahmoud Fathallah with seven minutes remaining gave Zamalek, who should have won by a larger margin after squandering several clear-cut chances in the dying minutes, all three points. "We lacked concentration and wasted many goalscoring opportunities today," Hassan, who shoulders the White Knights' hopes of leading them to a league triumph for the first time since 2004, added. "We also suffered from recurring defensive mistakes but what matters most is that we were able to win." The hard-fought win lifted Zamalek to second place in the league table on 14 points, just one behind leaders and surprise package Police Union.

Zamalek roar back to beat MCDR

Zamalek staged a superb comeback to atone for their defensive fragilities and defeat promoted MCDR 4-3 in an intriguing Egyptian Premier League game on Saturday. The Cairo giants fell behind to two goals from playmaker Ayman Hefni, who said before the match he hoped to impress to earn an Egypt call-up, and Ayman Kamal. They hit back with two goals from Shikabala and substitute Ahmed Gaafar, whose introduction added much-needed firepower to Zamalek, in the last five minutes of the first half. Hussein Hamdi restored MCDR's advantage nine minutes past the hour mark but Gaafar struck again few minutes later to equalize and stake his claim for a regular place in Zamalek's starting line-up. Although Gaafar was the team's top scorer last season with nine goals, coach Hossam Hassan opted to put him to the bench and rely on Amr Zaki as a lone striker this term. A trademark header from central defender Mahmoud Fathallah with seven minutes remaining gave Zamalek all three points as MCDR were punished for the needless attacking approach they had after going in front. Zamalek's third successive victory puts them second in the league table with 14 points, just one behind leaders and surprise package Police Union. MCDR, who made a decent start to their league campaign, lie 11th on eight points from seven matches. Individual Effort Zamalek's enthusiastic start could have resulted in an early goal but the overlapping Hossam Arafat saw his low shot from inside the area strike the post. Zaki, who played on his own upfront and was supported by attacking midfielders Arafat, Shikabala and Hussein Yasser, also came close with a header that narrowly missed the target. However, it was MCDR who grabbed the lead on 14 minutes after a fine individual effort from the skilful Hefni. The 24-year-old cut inside Mohamed Abdul-Shafi inside the area before hitting a low shot which bounced in front of off-form keeper Essam Al-Hadari before flying into the net.The Egypt guardian, who made a U-turn on his decision to leave Zamalek in January, was taunted by his own fans who chanted the name of their favorite goalie Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed. Al-Hadari, who joined Zamalek from Ismaili in the close season, was also to blame for MCDR's second goal in the 34th minute. He let a harmless and weak shot from Hamdi elude him and come back off the post before finding the unmarked Kamal, who slotted into an empty net. Zamalek reduced the arrears in the 41st minute when the combative Zaki held off his challenger with his back to goal before squaring the ball for Shikabala to tap in easily at the far post.Instant Impact Gaafar replaced Qatari winger Yasser and made an instant impact as he leveled the score with a looping header after making the most of a mis-hit shot from Arafat and the poor position of MCDR keeper Mostafa Kamal. Zamalek continued to commit mistakes at the back though and they were punished when Hamdi restored the hosts' advantage in the 69th minute. An attempted clearance by Zamalek's central defender Hani Saied ballooned over his head and went backwards to find Hamdi, who went through and slotted home with aplomb. Instead of tightening their defense to preserve their lead, MCDR pushed forward to leaves gaps at the back which Zamalek exposed to emerge winners. Gaafar came to the White Knights' rescue in the 73rd minute when he fired a powerful drive into the top corner from nine yards out after a deft lay off from youngster Mohamed Ibrahim, who came on as a second-half substitute. Fathallah rose at the near post to capitalize on a mis-timed jump from keeper Kamal and head home Shikabala's corner seven minutes from time, taking his tally to three goals so far this season. Zaki could have made sure of victory on a couple of occasions but squandered his easy chances. Zamalek held on though to maintain their fine run of late.

Al-Hadari to stay at Zamalek

Zamalek goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari has backtracked on his decision to depart in January, the club's football director Ibrahim Hassan said on Wednesday. "I sat down with Al-Hadari and convinced him to stay put," Hassan, the twin brother of head coach Hossam Hassan, told FilGoal.com. "He agreed to remain at the club." Al-Hadari said last week he sought to leave Zamalek, the club he joined from Ismaili in the close season, when the transfer window re-opens in January. He was reportedly angry at coach Hassan's decision to field Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed instead of him during the 3-1 Egyptian Premier League victory over promoted Smouha. Hassan played both keepers during Zamalek's past six league games, opting not to rely on a definite first-choice goalie.Al-Sayed, who has been Zamalek's regular keeper for more than a decade, produced an impressive display in Monday's narrow 1-0 victory over Arab Contractors to prompt the White Knights' fans to enthusiastically chant his name. Harras Hodoud made no secret of their desire to sign Al-Hadari but they could now give up their pursuit of the veteran shot-stopper. Shikabala Offer - Ibrahim Hassan also said the club would not object to selling Shikabala if he received a suitable offer. The talented forward is linked with a Belgian move, with Anderlecht and Standard Liege apparently ready to table bids for him. "We don't have problems with that. We can sell Shikabala if a good offer arrives," Hassan stated. "We are working in the best interests of the club. We can use the money we will get from Shikabala's transfer in signing new players and extending the contracts of our players."

Anderlecht back in for Shika - Zamalek


Anderlecht have renewed their interest in the services of Shikabala, according to Zamalek new board member Ahmed Refaat. Even though the Belgian champions virtually ended their pursuit of the 24-year-old, Zamalek claim a fresh bid has just arrived. Moreover, Refaat, a former manager of the Whites, claims that Standard Liege have also entered the race to sign the midfield wizard. Zamalek, led by new chairman Galal Ibrahim, seem to more open to offers for Shika, who has been labeled 'not for sale' by Mamdouh Abbas' recently-sacked board. Decision "We received two enquiries from Anderlecht and Standard Liege about Shikabala," Refaat, who has just been assigned as board member, told FilGoal.com."The offers will be discussed by the board and we'll come to a decision regarding the player's future." Shikabala has been involved in a contractual dispute with Anderlecht who had two offers turned down in the summer before claiming that the Whites' star had signed a contract with them. But the Egypt playmaker eventually committed his future to Zamalek, even though he repeatedly said he would like to make a move to Europe. His announcement prompted Anderlecht to back down on their interest, saying it is 'unreasonable' to keep pursuing him. On the other hand, Standard had an unpleasant experience with Egypt striker Emad Meteb earlier this season after signing him on a free transfer from Ahli. After inking a two-year deal with Standard, Meteb made an infamous U-turn back to Egypt, causing the fury of the Belgian outfit.

Fathallah penalty lifts Zamalek



Zamalek labored to a 1-0 Egyptian Premier League victory over Arab Contractors, thanks to a dubious first-half penalty from defender Mahmoud Fathallah. The Whites' second straight win sent them to fourth place on 11 points, one point adrift of leaders Police Union. Contractors remained second from bottom after suffering their fifth loss in seven games. Shikabala dummy - The hosts thought they had taken the lead on 20 minutes, but Musa Kabiru's strike was ruled out for a deliberate handball by the Nigerian striker. Kabiru was lucky to escape the caution, but was ironically booked before the break for another intentional handball. Contractors keeper Daouda Diakite was equal to Ashour Al-Adham's powerful freekick as Zamalek looked close to breaking the deadlock.The opener came when Shikabala earned a clever penalty for Zamalek after theatrically going down inside the area, following Shamisudeen Tijani's innocuous tackle. In-form Egypt defender Fathallah made no mistake from the spot to score his second goal in as many games. Two minutes later, Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed justified Hossam Hassan's decision to prefer him to Essam Al-Hadari with an acrobatic save from Mohamed Samara's volley. After the break, Contractors looked relatively courageous but their first league win over Zamalek since 1997 didn’t seem to be on the cards. Fathallah almost put the game to bed with his second of the game, but uncommonly missed a free header from Shikabala's precise freekick cross. Hassan introduced Iraq striker Emad Mohamed who hardly touched the ball for about ten minutes, before forcing a great save from Diakite with a terrific volley. It proved to be the best chance of the half though, as Zamalek secured their second clean sheet of the season.