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Mido: A fresh hunger for Pharaoh’s shirt
ben alaiya
group sports editor
Almost all important football countries
have them, some in quantum, others very few. In Nigeria there used to be Tarila
Okorowanta, and veteran coach Alabi Aisien is in the best of positions to give
his tantrums in the Nigerian soccer scene. But one thing no one can take away
from Tarila was the fact he was talented, some say almost indispensable to any
team that he played for.
After him came, Etim ‘Maradona
’Esin, sadly the man who can best tell the story of Esin, Chris Udemezue
is no more but he managed him to the best of his abilities and took him to
Chile ’87, where Nigeria’s arguably best assembled U-20 squad
failed to perform.
The gunshots suffered by Esin in his
encounters with armed robbers in Lagos, when he was supposed to be in camp may
have accounted for that poor display by the Nigerian side.
We have also had other stars like Diego
Armando Maradona of Argentina, Rene Higuita of Colombia, Paul Gasgoigne of
England, Toto Schilaci of Italy and a host of others who are coaches’ and
team selectors headache as long as discipline in the team is concerned but turn
superstars once they are on the pitch.
Recently, Egyptian star Ahmed
‘Mido’ Hassan has become the most controversial footballer from
Africa and for a teenager he may go the way of his likes if not properly
managed.
The controversial Egyptian striker on
Thursday says that he wants to play for his country again after being thrown
out of the national team as a result of mounting disciplinary concerns.
The Egypt Football Association suspended Mido in September
after the 21-year-old refused to play for the Pharaohs on more than one
occasion.
“I miss wearing the national team colours,” Mido
said.
Mido’s chances of a return to the national side are
boosted by the absence of former Egypt coach Marco Tardelli, who was sacked in
October.
Tardelli, a no-nonsense former Italian international, who
believes he has seen it all gave Mido the boot for not complying with simple
instructions to report to team venues for games as and when due.
The Italian coach and the Egyptian striker fell out on
numerous occasions over the player’s availability for matches.
However, the AS Roma player insisted that the prospect of
reaching the 2006 World Cup finals is not the reason he wants to return to the
national side.
“We have to be realistic,” he explained.
“We still have a chance of reaching the World Cup
finals but we need a miracle to get to Germany.”
Egypt currently lie fourth in World Cup qualifying Group
Three, trailing group leaders the Ivory Coast by five points at the halfway
stage. Mido also revealed that he is keen to stay with his current Italian
club.
“Roma is not doing that well this year but I still
hope to stay with them and help them regain form. We’ve got a new coach
and new players, and we just need some time to harmonize.”
The controversial player denied plans to move to the English
Premiership anytime in the near future.
“Those are rumours, and I want to succeed in Italy.
“The Serie A is the toughest league in Europe, and if
I can do well in Italy I will be able to play anywhere.”
The important thing that Mido has not learnt is humility.
For a teenager, he needs to be humble and learn from the mistakes of those who
have failed with tantrums like the ones he has exhibiting mow.
The simple truth is that Mido is a talent that any coach
would like to have in his team, whether national or otherwise but a key
ingredient for team’s successes is discipline and at the moment, Mido
does not have it. Like his ilk, they are quick to return to their roots when
the going gets tough as is presently the case with his Roma romance. Whoever,
his manager would be, the truth must be told to Mido that he cannot make an
international star on his own terms.
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