Ranging from the presidential, such as “Obama” to the abstract, like “Kahraba” (“electricity”) or “El Winch,” the tradition of Egyptian soccer players taking bizarre nicknames is alive and kicking.
The flamboyant and sometimes satirical naming of players was prominently employed by Badr Ragab, a youth coach at Egypt’s most successful club, Al Ahly, during the 1980s, as he handed out nicknames to his young squad.
“I dreamt that they would become international stars and wanted to motivate them,” he said. “The names are based on their resemblance to famous players as well as their skills.”
Photo: AFP
“I gave Kareem Waleed the nickname ‘Nedved’ because he resembled Pavel Nedved of Juventus and Mahmoud Hassan who had shades of David Trezeguet of the French national team,” he added.
The Egyptian Trezeguet, 26, is with English side Aston Villa, and has played 48 times for Egypt.
Ragab dubbed Egypt national Mahmoud Abdel-Moniem “Kahraba” because of his energy.
Ramy Barakat, Egypt’s former team psychologist, said that the nicknames are not helpful.
“Some players consider these nicknames devoid of meaning and are just hard workers who want to reach stardom, while others fall prey to it and believe they’ve made it,” he said.
However, this has not stopped players from putting their nicknames on their kits.
Zamalek stalwart Youssef Ibrahim, 25, was given the nickname “Obama” by teammates when he made the first-team squad.
They said that he looked like former US president Barack Obama.
Al Ahly defender Ahmed Ramadan goes by “Beckham,” as a tribute to English star David Beckham, while Khalil Heggi, also at Al Ahly, has opted to take the name of Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain striker “Neymar.”
One of the most beloved players, Mahmoud Abdel-Razeq, who played for Zamalek and their fierce rivals Al Ahly, is simply known as “Shikabala.” It is an Egyptian version of the name of Zambian star Webster Chikabala, who played professionally in Portugal.
Zamalek defender Mahmoud Hamdy is known as “El Winch,” because of his bulging strength.
The ridiculous is also represented with Abdel Rahman Khaled of Arab Contractors taking the nickname “Gebna” (“cheese”).
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS