Marked for Mostafa Soliman
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Apr 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
20 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.
Market2 Apr 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at Smouha, and it is not being withdrawn.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 dugout2 Apr 2029
This is not rotation. Insa Badji has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Squad2 Apr 2029
A falling-out at Smouha
Richardson Denzell and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Smouha
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.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market2 Apr 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Isaac Sackey has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Smouha.
Squad2 Apr 2029
A place in the month's best eleven for Insa Badji
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Insa Badji has come out of that comparison in the side, and Smouha have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout2 Apr 2029
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Mar 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
27 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.
Match21 Mar 2029
The cup run ends for Smouha
0‑2 against Al Ahly, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market26 Mar 2029
Only the photograph left for Omar Kamel
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Omar Kamel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Smouha the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market26 Mar 2029
Moamen Sherif hands in a written request
“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.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Ransford Amoo, 21, steals the show — 7.97
Marked 7.97 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Words exchanged at Smouha
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.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
This is not rotation. Isaac Sackey has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Squad26 Mar 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.
The terraces26 Mar 2029
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Jun 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
19 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market5 Jun 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hussein Taimour will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Smouha the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Smouha
Khaled El Ghandour and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Jun 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.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Sherif Reda has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Market5 Jun 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Smouha have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad5 Jun 2028
At 34, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
Amr El Sisi 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 May 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
26 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.
Market29 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout29 May 2028
This is not rotation. Insa Badji has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Squad29 May 2028
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.
Squad29 May 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.
The dugout29 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Khaled El Ghandour, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 May 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
33 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.
Market22 May 2028
Islam Hesham hands in a written request
“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 dugout22 May 2028
Islam Hesham: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Smouha have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market22 May 2028
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.
Squad22 May 2028
Tempers go at Smouha
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.
The dugout22 May 2028
This is not rotation. Koné Mohamed has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Squad22 May 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.
Squad22 May 2028
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 36 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
The dugout22 May 2028
Nobody at Smouha will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 May 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
40 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 dugout15 May 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad15 May 2028
Words exchanged at Smouha
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.
Squad15 May 2028
A row about effort at Smouha
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Sackey was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 May 2028
This is not rotation. Yassine Abdelali has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
The dugout15 May 2028
Emmanuel Nweke 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.
The dugout15 May 2028
Ahmed Fawzi gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad15 May 2028
Ransford Amoo, 20, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Smouha would like this to lead.
Market15 May 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ashraf Magdy may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
In brief
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Boardroom
The Smouha production line keeps running
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Match
Mid-table, and Smouha know it
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 May 2028
47 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.
Match8 May 2028
The season ends: position 11 for Smouha
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 38 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Ransford Amoo, 20, steals the show — 7.87
Marked 7.87 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market8 May 2028
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.
Squad8 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Isaac Sackey and Smouha agree another 2 years.
Match6 May 2028
At last: Smouha win one
7 matches without a win, and then this, against Haras El Hodoud. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad8 May 2028
A falling-out at Smouha
Khaled El Ghandour and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 May 2028
A row about effort at Smouha
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Isaac Sackey was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces8 May 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Ransford Amoo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 May 2028
Mostafa Soliman damages knee ligaments — 56 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 56 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match29 Apr 2028
The wait goes on for Smouha
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The dugout1 May 2028
This is not rotation. Insa Badji has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Squad1 May 2028
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.
Squad1 May 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Smouha know it.
Squad1 May 2028
A row about effort at Smouha
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.
Match29 Apr 2028
El Masry left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout1 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Emmanuel Nweke
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout1 May 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Mohamed Dabash will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Apr 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
64 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.
Match22 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Smouha's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Smouha has to find a result from somewhere.
Market24 Apr 2028
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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Smouha
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.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Koné Mohamed has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Apr 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.
Match22 Apr 2028
Emmanuel Nweke scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Aswan, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad24 Apr 2028
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ahmed Said, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Apr 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
71 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.
Match15 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Smouha's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Smouha has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Smouha
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.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Yassine Abdelali has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
Squad17 Apr 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 dugout17 Apr 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Marked 7.30. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
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 dugout17 Apr 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Apr 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mostafa Soliman
78 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.
Market10 Apr 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hussein Taimour will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Smouha the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match8 Apr 2028
The wait goes on for Smouha
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A falling-out at Smouha
Khaled El Ghandour and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Apr 2028
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.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Sherif Reda has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Smouha is pretending otherwise.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Isaac Sackey dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market16 Aug 2027
Smouha say no — this time
The offer from Masr El Makasa for Ahmed Ehab was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market16 Aug 2027
Only the photograph left for Ahmed Gaber
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Gaber will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Smouha the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Amr El Sisi in a row with a teammate
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.
Boardroom16 Aug 2027
Graduation day at Smouha
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad16 Aug 2027
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.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ittihad have kept their man, and Smouha go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market16 Aug 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mostafa Soliman has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market16 Aug 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Walid Warda has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Boardroom16 Aug 2027
Smouha are making the ground bigger
Work is signed off on a capacity of 32056. It is the sort of decision a club is judged on twenty years later, by people who were not there when it was taken.