It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ghazl El Mahalla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Nov 2035
Abdi Ineza 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Mory Touré is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout5 Nov 2035
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Mohamed Ghaly, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Nobody at Ghazl El Mahalla 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.
Maximo Ingravidi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Sep 2035
Seif Emam 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.
Ghazl El Mahalla 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.
Nobody at Ghazl El Mahalla 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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Ghazl El Mahalla will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mory Touré signs something — a contract at Ghazl El Mahalla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ghazl El Mahalla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mory Touré 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Ghazl El Mahalla. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“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 Ghazl El Mahalla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Yassin Atef 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mory Touré 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.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ghazl El Mahalla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“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 Ghazl El Mahalla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mory Touré 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. Botafogo have kept their man, and Ghazl El Mahalla go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Fathy Ashour and Ghazl El Mahalla agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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 Hossam Zaki is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yassin Atef signs something — a contract at Ghazl El Mahalla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ghazl El Mahalla, another week without a signature from Naoufal Bannis.
In brief
The dugoutHossam Zaki asks for a word with the manager
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Yassin Atef 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 Mar 2035
Mory Touré 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.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout19 Mar 2035
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 Mohamed Ghaly left the room before anybody could ask which.
Nobody at Ghazl El Mahalla 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Youssef El Azab’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Ghazl El Mahalla needing him to play as if none of it matters.
In brief
The dugoutBassem Warda knocks on the manager’s door
“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 Ghazl El Mahalla, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 5 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mory Touré was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ghazl El Mahalla asked and Asante Kotoko said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ghazl El Mahalla, another week without a signature from Abdelrahman Sherif.
The words a physio says slowly. 72 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.
Yassin Atef 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 Youssef El Azab was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 18 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Youssef El Azab. 1‑0 against ENPPI, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ghazl El Mahalla 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 Ghazl El Mahalla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Seif Emam 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mory Touré was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bassem Warda and Ghazl El Mahalla agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Ghazl El Mahalla has been clear about where Karim Zaki stands, which is more than many ever get.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ghazl El Mahalla will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mory Touré 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 Ghazl El Mahalla go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Hossam Hegazi again, and this time the name on the line is Wadi Degla. Ghazl El Mahalla are listening politely and promising nothing.
Emad Gabr 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ghazl El Mahalla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutHossam Zaki has become a man the manager trusts
The dugoutBassem Warda asks for a word with the manager
Abdi Ineza 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ghazl El Mahalla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A loan enquiry to Bayelsa United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ghazl El Mahalla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at Ghazl El Mahalla 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ghazl El Mahalla, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ghazl El Mahalla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
This is not rotation. Bolbol has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Ghazl El Mahalla is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 May 2034
Abdi Ineza 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Abdi Ineza signs something — a contract at Ghazl El Mahalla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Ghazl El Mahalla would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and El Sayed Gabr trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Ghazl El Mahalla 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ghazl El Mahalla will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 90th minute. Al Ahly will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hossam Hegazi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ghazl El Mahalla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ghazl El Mahalla 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 Mory Touré was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
12 combined actions and 7.32. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
At 19 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.
In brief
Player ratingsYoussef El Azab was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Seif Emam 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.
Squad27 Mar 2034
Mory Touré 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.
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 Seif Emam is on it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Arab Contractors in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ghazl El Mahalla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ghazl El Mahalla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Yassin Atef 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.
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad6 Mar 2034
Mory Touré 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Seif Emam has come out of that comparison in the side, and Ghazl El Mahalla have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Seif Emam 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mory Touré was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
11 combined actions and 6.93. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bassem Warda and Ghazl El Mahalla agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout12 Dec 2033
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 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Mohamed Ghaly to a room that had heard them before.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.