116 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Smouha people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostafa El Aash is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Samuel Amadi has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Eyad Tamer is in the works
124 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Richardson Denzell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mostafa El Aash was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Jul 2029
David Atanga is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Smouha told Insa Badji something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Smouha lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Smouha offered $230.0K; Arab Contractors said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mostafa El Aash was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Ahly have kept their man, and Smouha go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Smouha have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Smouha is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
$230.0K on the table at Arab Contractors. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Smouha have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The phone has started ringing about Samadou Attidjikou again, and this time the name on the line is Wadi Degla. Smouha are listening politely and promising nothing.
Richardson Denzell and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Smouha have gone to Petrojet with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mostafa El Aash was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
In brief
The dugoutAmr El Sisi asks for a word with the manager
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Smouha people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Smouha have gone to ENPPI with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mostafa El Aash was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Smouha asked and Al Ahly said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Smouha, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer went to Petrojet this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Masr El Makasa will make the call about Omar Kamel this week. Smouha have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Anisse Saidi and Smouha agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amr El Sisi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Richardson Denzell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ahmed Said commits to Smouha for another 2 years.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostafa El Aash is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Smouha will try not to make too much of it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mahmoud El Badry has his answer from Smouha; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting David Atanga's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Richardson Denzell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amr El Sisi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Samadou Attidjikou is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Smouha, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Two goals and a mark of 8.67 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Richardson Denzell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amr El Sisi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everybody at Smouha saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 37 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Two goals and a mark of 8.80 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Richardson Denzell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Richardson Denzell. 3‑1 against El Dakhleya, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amr El Sisi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Smouha they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
1 for Samadou Attidjikou, marked 7.42, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Hussein Taimour reports back to Smouha with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Richardson Denzell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amr El Sisi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Arab Contractors have kept their man, and Smouha go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ransford Amoo did not need any: 7.77, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Petrojet moved on, Koné Mohamed reports back to Smouha, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Petrojet have kept their man, and Smouha go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Smouha ran out of time with Ghazl El Mahalla. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
In brief
SquadAmr El Sisi falls out with a teammate over standards
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Smouha lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Smouha people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Smouha, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The deal with MC Alger is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Khaled El Ghandour and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Smouha lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Smouha, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Smouha people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The name of Mostafa El Aash has come up in conversations Smouha were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Khaled El Ghandour was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Amr El Sisi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Ahly have kept their man, and Smouha go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
52 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Smouha lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The deal with Ghazl El Mahalla is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The name of Koné Mohamed has come up in conversations Smouha were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Amr El Sisi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
108 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Smouha lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amr El Sisi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Smouha told Hesham Hafez something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Masr El Makasa next, and one man in the Smouha dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Samuel Amadi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Smouha will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Samuel Amadi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amr El Sisi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Mahmoud Abou-Gouda’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Smouha needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Samadou Attidjikou has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Smouha will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Smouha, and it is not being withdrawn.
Samuel Amadi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Ahmed Warda to a room that had heard them before.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 109 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Smouha, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Smouha have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The offer went to Wadi Degla this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Khaled El Ghandour and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Smouha asked and Petrojet said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Smouha have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Isaac Sackey falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Peter Dakka has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Smouha have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Smouha lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Smouha will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Smouha and Aswan have settled on $100.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Khaled El Ghandour and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Sackey is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Anisse Saidi
Khaled El Ghandour and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
This is not rotation. Koné Mohamed has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amr El Sisi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samadou Attidjikou, and the manager let it.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Ahmed Warda left the room before anybody could ask which.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Smouha have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Smouha have gone to Al Ahly with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Smouha can pretend not to have heard.
The chase for Mostafa El Aash ended with $1.0M changing hands and El Masry out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
The fee is $130.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Zamalek drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Mostafa El Aash was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $1.0M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Smouha training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amr El Sisi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at El Masry, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ghazl El Mahalla waiting with a shirt. Nobody at El Masry is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Add another name to the list: Zamalek have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Moustafa Zeidan. The answer from El Masry has not changed — yet.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Al Ahly is saying, and nobody at El Masry is enjoying the guessing.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. El Masry have done the hard part with Al Ahly, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Reindorf Huncho has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means El Masry have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Haras El Hodoud waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs have shaken hands with Zamalek; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Smouha can pretend not to have heard.
Smouha asked and Al Ahly said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
$1.0M on the table at El Masry. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Momen Mohamed Abd Rabo is a Smouha player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Mohamed Dabash and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Smouha can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Smouha this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amr El Sisi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Smouha asked and El Masry said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The name of Anisse Saidi has come up in conversations Smouha were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.