The words a physio says slowly. 133 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
Emam Ashour 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Khalid Muhammed has just signed for El Masry, and for once the answer mattered.
Police Union will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Silas Nwankwo has pre-agreed a move to El Masry, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Two goals and a mark of 9.77 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. El Masry will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 The request is on a desk at El Masry, and it is not being withdrawn.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry 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 Karim El Eraki was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Salah Mohsen scored in the 89th minute, Police Union had already begun thinking about the journey home, and El Masry took the lot.
The offer from Al Ahly for Abderrahim Deghmoum 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.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Emam Ashour 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.
53 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 7 signed and 7 gone
That is the business done at El Masry until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Emam Ashour 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 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.
El Masry asked and Police Union said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A 2‑0 win over Masr El Makasa, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
El Dakhleya will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. El Masry were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sunusi Ibrahim provided it, and the 9.15 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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.
The fee is $1.1M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Ghazl El Mahalla drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Emeke Eze is a El Masry player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
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.
El Masry asked and Ismaily said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. El Masry scored in the 107th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mohamed Zaalouk provided it, and the 9.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. El Masry have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Ghazl El Mahalla have accepted the money. What El Masry do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Successful dribbles: 29. 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.49 for the rest of it.
Position 3, 44 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
“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.
Masr El Makasa have accepted the money. What El Masry do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
In brief
SquadWords at El Masry training over how hard people work
Two goals and a mark of 9.47 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The offer from Zamalek for Salah Mohsen 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.
“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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Karim El Eraki 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.
Emam Ashour 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 Dec 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Sobhi 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Mahmoud El Hadary on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Emam Ashour 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.
Marked 8.55 — 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.
Minute 90, against Petrojet, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Successful dribbles: 39. 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.84 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Moustafa Zeidan provided it, and the 8.28 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Position 3, 36 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Emam Ashour 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 Mohamed Sobhi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Moustafa Zeidan. 3‑1 against Smouha, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.69 — 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.
The 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Salah Mohsen was at the centre of it, Wadi Degla were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
Two goals and a mark of 9.99 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Emam Ashour 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.
It finished 4‑2, and it was Salah Mohsen’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to El Masry.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Salah Mohsen 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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ahmed Ali provided it, and the 8.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry 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 Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 22 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Sobhi 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.
A 2‑0 win over Haras El Hodoud, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. El Masry told Hussein Faisal something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 4 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Mahmoud El Hadary on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. El Masry will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Emam Ashour 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 Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason El Masry will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 9.79 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
A brace, and Salah Mohsen takes the afternoon — 9.46
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Salah Mohsen provided it, and the 9.46 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Emam Ashour 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 Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
15 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Al Gaish spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. El Masry will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The first defeat in 10 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Police Union; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Emam Ashour and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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 door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
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 1‑2 Mahmoud El Hadary left the room before anybody could ask which.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. El Masry will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
14 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Emam Ashour 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Salah Mohsen 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.
Marked 8.32 — 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 El Masry will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 5‑0 against El Dakhleya, and it could have been more.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
A brace, and Salah Mohsen takes the afternoon — 10.00
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Salah Mohsen provided it, and the 10.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two goals and a mark of 9.80 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Hashem 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 44 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 El Masry, and it is not being withdrawn.
13 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ziad Kamal 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. El Masry will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
At 29 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. El Masry will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
12 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Emam Ashour 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.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. El Masry will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Paradou had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Two goals and a mark of 8.34 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
161 appearances across 10 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. El Masry will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Successful dribbles: 32. 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hassan Ali will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
El Masry have gone to Masr El Makasa 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.
Everything agreed with Ludogorets, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason El Masry will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around El Masry people have started saying his name in the past tense.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sunusi Ibrahim provided it, and the 9.13 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The chase for Emam Ashour ended with $3.0M changing hands and Al Ahly out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Hassan Aboul-Maati is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason El Masry will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around El Masry people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The offer from MC Oran for Abderrahim Deghmoum 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.
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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nathaniel Nwosu is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
$650.0K on the table at Al Ahly. 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 board have signed the man in the dugout to a longer contract, which says more than any statement of support. Stability is easy to promise and costly to keep.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason El Masry will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ajia Yakub has just signed for El Masry, and for once the answer mattered.
El Masry 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lisandru Olmeta is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mahmoud Hamdy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Ludogorets keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason El Masry will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” ES Setif had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. El Masry have lost him in all but the paperwork.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Hashem 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.
El Masry have made the call to Ludogorets. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Mahmoud Hamdy
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. El Masry will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at El Masry would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
In brief
The dugoutMahmoud Hamdy knocks on the manager's door
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. El Masry have lost him in all but the paperwork.
El Masry 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.
“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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Salah Mohsen 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.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Police Union waiting with a shirt. Nobody at El Masry 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.
“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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. El Masry have done the hard part with Zamalek, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ludogorets is saying, and nobody at El Masry is enjoying the guessing.
Moustafa Zeidan 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ittihad paid $530.0K and El Masry took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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.
El Masry asked and Shakhtar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Aswan waiting with a shirt. Nobody at El Masry is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around El Masry 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 El Masry, and it is not being withdrawn.
El Masry 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.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Moustafa Zeidan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Salah Mohsen 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.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around El Masry 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 El Masry, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Aswan for Ahmed Ayman Mansour 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Karim El Eraki 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.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
El Masry asked and Slovan Bratislava 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around El Masry people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. El Masry have done the hard part with Zamalek, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mahmoud Hamdy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
El Masry had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Ludogorets, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Salah Mohsen 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.
“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.
Everything agreed with Ludogorets, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Mohamed Shokry again, and this time the name on the line is Aswan. El Masry are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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. Shakhtar have kept their man, and El Masry go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. El Masry will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
34 games, 3 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at El Masry now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Hashem 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at El Masry, 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 El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Moustafa Zeidan 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 Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mahmoud Hamdy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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.
Mohamed Seha 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Salah Mohsen signs something — a contract at El Masry or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mohamed Makhlouf has written the date down.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Mahmoud Hamada plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Hashem 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at El Masry, and both men came out saying it was fine.
75 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
5 goals in 28 games at Arab Contractors — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at El Masry updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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.
Yusuf Maigoro 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Trezeguet Kahraba is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at El Masry, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ahmed Waheb has his answer from El Masry; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Shokry will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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.
14 goals in 30 games at USM Khenchela — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at El Masry updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Trezeguet Kahraba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at El Masry has been clear about where Mahmoud Hamdy stands, which is more than many ever get.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mohamed Makhlouf has written the date down.
In brief
SquadHassan Ali is training like a man with a point to make
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around El Masry they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Moustafa Zeidan 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 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.
3 goals in 34 games at El Dakhleya — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at El Masry updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at El Masry. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Moustafa Zeidan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Emad Kahraba 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Trezeguet Aboutrika 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. El Sayed Warda is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
The division's best last weekend was a El Masry man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Mahmoud Al Bloushi was the best thing in any of them.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 75 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
He is 17, he is averaging 6.57, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.93 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around El Masry they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Karim El Eraki was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
“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, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Shehata will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Salah Mohsen 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
21 goals and a season average of 7.64 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
A brace, and Salah Mohsen takes the afternoon — 9.55
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Salah Mohsen provided it, and the 9.55 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around El Masry they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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.
Marked 9.14 — 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.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between El Masry and Haras El Hodoud, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Shokry will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Moustafa Zeidan 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 goals in one match, Mahmoud Al Bloushi on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of El Masry and Zamalek.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Salah Mohsen 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: 19. 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.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 5 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Waheb will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Moustafa Zeidan 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: CSKA Moscow keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Hassan Ali had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. El Masry 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 El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Shakhtar is saying, and nobody at El Masry is enjoying the guessing.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around El Masry people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Shehata will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Two goals and a mark of 9.68 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Aswan waiting with a shirt. Nobody at El Masry is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. El Masry have done the hard part with Al-Hilal, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Al-Ittihad is saying, and nobody at El Masry is enjoying the guessing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Karim El Eraki 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 goals in one match, Mahmoud Al Bloushi on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of El Masry and El Dakhleya.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around El Masry people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
He is going to Al Ahly, the club has $3.6M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
El Masry had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at CSKA Moscow, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 8 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. El Masry have lost him in all but the paperwork.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Godwin Asiriuwa is living that version at El Masry, and it tends to show in the first month.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. El Masry have done the hard part with Zamalek, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
Add another name to the list: Al Ahly have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Baher Elmohamady. The answer from El Masry has not changed — yet.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Shehata will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
El Masry asked and CSKA Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
In brief
SquadWords at El Masry training over how hard people work
3 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Ghazl El Mahalla the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that El Masry will enjoy reviewing.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.04 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Moustafa Zeidan 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 Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8.94. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.76 — 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.31 — 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Moustafa Zeidan was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.21. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The first defeat in 4 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against ENPPI; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.92 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Ibrahim Adel has, at El Masry, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Karim El Eraki 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mahmoud Al Bloushi. 2‑1 against Petrojet, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Military Production, and it could have been more.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A brace, and Salah Mohsen takes the afternoon — 9.35
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Salah Mohsen provided it, and the 9.35 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Karim El Eraki 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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.
9.25. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Position 3, 38 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
5 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Waheb will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Karim El Eraki 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.38 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Two goals and a mark of 8.34 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
11 goals in one match, Moustafa Zeidan on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of El Masry and Wadi Degla.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sunusi Ibrahim provided it, and the 9.10 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” El Masry have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Shehata will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Moustafa Zeidan 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 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at El Masry is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The first defeat in 5 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Zamalek; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Something was said to Mahmoud Al Bloushi and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Haras El Hodoud in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Zamalek next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at El Masry training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salah Mohsen 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.
A 1‑0 win over Al Gaish, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Salah Mohsen 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; El Masry are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Listowel Amankona 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.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around El Masry they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Moustafa Zeidan 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about El Masry and Police Union in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Masr El Makasa will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. El Masry were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Two goals and a mark of 8.34 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Waheb will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Karim El Eraki 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 Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
In brief
SquadDefences have started doubling up on Salah Mohsen
Successful dribbles: 33. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
12 combined actions and 7.20. 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Salah Mohsen 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
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.” Mahmoud El Hadary, on a 4‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.30 for the rest of it.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 91. Al Ahly had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, El Masry have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
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.
In brief
Player ratingsThe pass was always on for Salah Mohsen
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. El Masry lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Al Ahli keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Shehata will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. El Sayed Gabr is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
10 combined actions and 7.69. 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
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 1‑2 Mahmoud El Hadary left the room before anybody could ask which.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. El Masry lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.08 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what El Masry can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at El Masry until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Waheb will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around El Masry the goodbyes have quietly begun.
El Masry asked and Masr El Makasa said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
With 7 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Salah Mohsen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around El Masry 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 El Masry, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Al Ahli is saying, and nobody at El Masry is enjoying the guessing.
El Masry asked and DAC Dunajska Streda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A 2‑0 win over Ghazl El Mahalla, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 8.05 — 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.
A brace, and Salah Mohsen takes the afternoon — 9.20
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Salah Mohsen provided it, and the 9.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. El Masry have lost him in all but the paperwork.
El Masry had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Al Shabab, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Salah Mohsen. 3‑1 against ENPPI, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Sunusi Ibrahim was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.99. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Al Ahli is saying, and nobody at El Masry is enjoying the guessing.
Karim El Eraki 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Sunusi Ibrahim 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.
Marked 8.50. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at El Masry.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Salah Mohsen was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.47. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Salah Mohsen 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Moustafa Zeidan at his very best
Transfer targetsA loan move for Ali Saeed is in the works
Squad5 new faces, and El Masry are still learning each other
“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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at El Masry this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Ali Marwan 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ibrahim Ghaly 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.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Sunusi Ibrahim has just signed for El Masry, and for once the answer mattered.
Karim El Eraki 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Shabab have kept their man, and El Masry go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Still no offer on the table, and Karim El Eraki’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.