Africa Cup of Nations 2017: Egypt’s national team is ready to contend after recovering from the Arab Spring

Feb. 10, 2010. Luanda, Angola. With six minutes remaining and the final of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations still goalless, substitute Mohamed Gedo played a delightful one-two with Mohamed Zidan, advanced into the area, and curled a finish beyond Ghanaian goalkeeper Richard Kingson. Gedo’s fifth goal of the tournament was enough to see Egypt win the match. The young and talented Black Stars were the better side on the day, but got outsmarted by a group of Egyptian veterans.

As it was in Cairo in 2006 against the Ivory Coast, and Accra in 2008 against Cameroon, so it was again in Luanda against Ghana. For the third consecutive time, Egypt was the champion of Africa.

To get a sense of Egypt’s total dominance of African football at the time, it is worth stating the records that were broken or extended: it was Egypt’s seventh AFCON title, three more than nearest challengers Cameroon and Ghana; Hassan Shehata went unbeaten as coach after 18 games across three tournaments. The Pharaohs reached their peak in 2010, with perhaps Nigeria’s 1994 cup-winning squad their only noteworthy rivals as the best team ever produced in Africa. Even though they reached heights no one expected them to scale again, what followed after that victory in Angola shocked even the most pessimistic followers of African soccer.

Just months after their record-setting triumph, Egypt became the first defending African champions to miss the next tournament as they failed to qualify for the 2012 edition co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, finishing bottom of a group containing consistent strugglers like South Africa, Niger, and Sierra Leone. Further disappointment followed with failure to qualify in 2013 and 2015, as a once proud team was relegated to the fringes of African football by a cruel combination of political upheaval and crowd violence.

The story of Egypt’s downfall is incomplete without referencing the Arab Spring revolution that swept across the Middle East and North Africa as a direct response against autocratic governments. In a country where religion, politics, and football are inextricably linked, an overthrow of the government was bound to have a lasting effect on the national team. In 2011 hordes of young people drawn mostly from Al Ahly and Zamalek fan groups gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demonstrate against then-president Hosni Mubarak’s government.

Shehata was forced to resign in June after failing to qualify for AFCON, but that was only half of the story. Where one would have rightly expected that a serial winner would be afforded time to steady the ship, the veteran manager was forced out due to his political leanings. Shehata, as it turned out, was a staunch supporter of the embattled Mubarak, whom he lent vocal support to during the early stages of protests against him.

“He [Shehata] has never denied maintaining a good relationship with the former president and supporting him as well, which has been the reason that some people have been against him,” Inas Mazhar, an editor and sports journalist with the Al-Ahram newspaper in Cairo, told the New African Magazine in 2016.

The protests led to draconian measures being imposed by the crumbling government, and in February 2011 the domestic league was suspended for two months. But it was the tragic event of Feb. 1, 2012, that gravely affected Egyptian football for years to come. Al Ahly’s 3-1 away loss to El Masry in Port Said had threatened to be an ugly affair, with tempers flaring as the home fans invaded the pitch before kickoff, at half-time, and on the three occasions they scored. But the worst was still to come — at full-time, tempers boiled over as the El Masry fans, wielding knives, swords, and other weapons, viciously attacked their Al Ahly counterparts, leaving 74 dead and over 500 injured.

In a country still reeling from violence caused by the overthrow of the last government, the response from authorities was understandably harsh and domestic football was suspended for two years. The Egyptian national team suffered as a result, as is to be expected from a side that extensively draws talent from its domestic league, a pleasant rarity in African soccer. From the 23-man squads Shehata took to the Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008, and 2010, 20, 17, and 19 of them respectively plied their trade for Egyptian clubs. With politics and a subsequent dearth of talent playing crucial roles in the demise of soccer in Egypt, the FA turned to first Bob Bradley, then later Shawky Gharieb in an effort to qualify for a first major tournament since 2010. Both men failed, and in March 2015, Hector Cuper, the Argentinian manager, was hired.

For Cuper this was a shot at redemption. After relative success with Valencia and Inter Milan, he hit a bit of a rough patch after saving Real Mallorca from relegation in 2005. His reputation was further damaged after uninspiring stints with Racing Santander and Al-Wasl. His only experience as an international manager saw him fail to win a single game in charge of Georgia between August 2008 and December 2009, and with concerns over his inability to remain in a post for more than two years, hiring Cuper was a major risk by the Egyptian FA. But if anyone knows a thing or two about taking a nosedive after spending time at the top, it is Egypt. Cuper’s remit was to qualify for any tournament, and at the first time of asking the Pharaohs returned to the big time after a 2-0 win over Tanzania last June confirmed their place in Gabon, as they finished top of a group also containing Nigeria.

Despite the Argentinian manager elevating Egyptian soccer back to its best form in six years, there has been criticism of his playing style, as many believe that playing defensively is wholly unsuited to their standing as heavyweights. This is an assertion that spectacularly misses the point considering the factors affecting the performance of the national side. Critics will point to declining possession statistics and a pragmatic edge that supposedly makes the team’s style unattractive, but as Cuper has repeatedly pointed out, all that matters is the performance.

Meanwhile, the domestic league has since resumed, with the crowning glory Zamalek’s run to the CAF Champions League final that saw a crowd of 70,000 attend in Alexandria to watch them in the second leg against Mamelodi Sundowns. Cuper has called up the finest players from the league, but domestic-based players only make up half the squad, in stark contrast to previous regimes.

There has been an influx of new talent into the national team setup with only four players remaining from their last AFCON appearance in 2010: Ahmed Elmohamady, Mohamed Abdelshafi, Ahmed Fathi, and 43-year-old Essam El Hadary. The latter was called out of retirement by Cuper after a two-year absence, and could make tournament history by becoming the oldest player to feature at the finals. Cuper has rotated the three goalkeepers at his disposal recently, but with El Hadary in goal in their opening two World Cup qualifiers, there’s an indication the veteran goalkeeper could retain his place in Gabon.

Whereas various iterations of Shehata’s Egypt relied on the stardust of Mohamed Aboutrika, Ahmed Hassan, Mido, and Zidan at different times, Cuper has built a tight-knit team reliant on the power of the group that is incredibly hard to break down. A once leaky defense has been tightened up with just one goal conceded during qualifying. Cuper’s side are also top of their World Cup qualifying group with two wins from two games, including a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Ghana in November, opponents they’re set to face again at AFCON. Interestingly Uganda, Ghana, and Egypt are in the same group at the AFCON and in World Cup qualifying.

AS Roma striker Mohamed Salah is the face of the new Egyptian side where he leads by example from the frontline. Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny remains an integral member of the team where he orchestrates play from deep in front of the defense. If Salah and Elneny are recognizable names, the unknown quality who could be Egypt’s X-factor is Stoke City winger Ramadan Sobhi. The 19-year-old is extremely tricky, never stops running, and as his performance against Nigeria showed, the youngster has an eye for goal. Goal-scoring could be an issue at the finals with strikers Mahmoud Abdelmoneim Kahraba, Ahmed Hassan (no relation to the legendary midfielder), and Marwan Mohsen scoring just 10 international goals between them. The exclusion of Zamalek striker Basem Morsy over what appears to be a disciplinary issue was a bit of a surprise.

With Cuper preaching hard work, defensive solidity, and teamwork, Egypt may not be as eye-catching as they were in previous tournaments. But after their long journey back, the Pharaohs will be intent on leaving a mark in Gabon — and with a benign group of familiar foes, Africa’s most successful side could yet make an impression on their return to the big time.