It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahmoud Shabana 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.
Arab Contractors will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Mahmoud El Hadary has pre-agreed a move to Ittihad, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Nobody at Ittihad 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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.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 Ittihad 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Sebastian Esposito.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The offer from Los Angeles Football Club for Amoory 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mabululu. 2‑1 against Zamalek, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka 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.
Canaria 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.
“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; Ittihad are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahmoud Shabana 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Mohamed Tarek is the division's best young player this month
At 20 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Ittihad will try very hard not to make too much of it.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
Marked 8.06 — 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.96 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka 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: Mabululu. 1‑0 against Military Production, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I watch every Ittihad game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at El Dakhleya runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad21 Feb 2028
6 new faces, and Ittihad are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Rayan Slimani will call it something else in private.
Two goals and a mark of 8.42 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka 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 crowd waited for a goal that never came. Wadi Degla defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Mahmoud Shabana scored, was marked 7.95, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
20 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Masr El Makasa have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Amoory. The answer from Ittihad has not changed — yet.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahmoud Shabana 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 2‑2 draw with Haras El Hodoud leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad24 Jan 2028
6 new faces, and Ittihad are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mabululu provided it, and the 8.89 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 Ittihad, 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 Ittihad 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka 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 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.
“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 Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Ittihad have had the benefit of it.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Add another name to the list: CS Constantine have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Amoory. The answer from Ittihad has not changed — yet.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahmoud Shabana 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 8.90 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Police Union spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
“I did not go to El Dakhleya to sit and watch. I want to come back to Ittihad and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Squad27 Dec 2027
5 new faces, and Ittihad are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Masr El Makasa left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Ittihad know it.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Ittihad deserved better, and so did he.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Youssef Hassan is living that version at Ittihad, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ahmed Ayman is a Ittihad player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Ahmed Ayman is living that version at Ittihad, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
“I did not go to El Dakhleya to sit and watch. I want to come back to Ittihad and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Squad29 Nov 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Isaac Saviour's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Canaria signs something — a contract at Ittihad or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Arab Contractors go through and Ittihad go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahmoud Shabana 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Ittihad told Fady Farid something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The 89th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Abdelrahman Magdy decided nobody was going anywhere. Ghazl El Mahalla had no time left to answer.
“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 Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ittihad, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.31 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 Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahmoud Shabana 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Gislain Abianda 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Sebastian Esposito 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ittihad, another week without a signature from Mahmoud Alaa.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Mahmoud Alaa 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 Sep 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Mohamed Tarek 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.
9 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.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with El Masry the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Ittihad will enjoy reviewing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The offer from Free State Stars for Amoory 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 Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ahmed Wahid has just signed for Ittihad, and for once the answer mattered.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. John Okoye Ebuka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Abubakar Liadi has his answer from Ittihad; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad 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 Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
Add another name to the list: Free State Stars have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Amoory. The answer from Ittihad has not changed — yet.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadCanaria has improved at 28, which nobody expected
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad 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 Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mahmoud Alaa 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 a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahmoud Shabana 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Mohamed Tarek 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.
Police Union made Ittihad work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Abubakar Liadi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.17. 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Masr El Makasa for Ahmed Menshawi 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.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Asem Gamal is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from Al Ahly for Mahmoud Shabana 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Emad Hassan 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. Mahmoud 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.
In brief
The terracesThe stands have heard the Mahmoud Shabana talk too
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Canaria signs something — a contract at Ittihad or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mohamed Tony trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ittihad 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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 Ittihad, 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 Ittihad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mahmoud Alaa 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 Ittihad 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sebastian Esposito 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.
In brief
SquadA muscle injury sidelines Amr Gomaa for 14 days
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Sebastian Esposito has just signed for Ittihad, and for once the answer mattered.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
In brief
SquadCanaria falls out with a teammate over standards
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdallah Fawzi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ittihad the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ahmed Menshawi is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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 phone has started ringing about Ahmed Menshawi again, and this time the name on the line is Masr El Makasa. Ittihad are listening politely and promising nothing.
In brief
SquadAhmed Eid has improved at 27, which nobody expected
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from Zamalek for Osama Ahmed 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 Ittihad 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Isaac Saviour and Ittihad agree another 3 years.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad 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.” Ittihad 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 Ittihad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Ahmed Eid has agreed terms with El Masry for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Mahmoud Alaa 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 is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Ittihad will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ahmed Menshawi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ittihad the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mahmoud Alaa 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Ittihad training over how hard people work
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadMohamed Tony falls out with a teammate over standards
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad 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.” Ittihad 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 Ittihad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
In brief
SquadCanaria falls out with a teammate over standards
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mahmoud Alaa 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 Apr 2027
Mohamed Tony 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ittihad 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad 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 Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youssef Nader will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ittihad the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Mahmoud Shabana scored, was marked 7.21, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sobhy Soliman will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ittihad the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gennesh 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Ahmed Nagy could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.68
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.68, 0 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad 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 Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Ittihad know 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad 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 Ittihad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Marked 8.50 — 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 Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 79 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Abdallah Fawzi has agreed terms with Petrojet for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Gennesh 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 86 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youssef Nader will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ittihad 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
12 goals and a season average of 7.32. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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. 93 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.90 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ittihad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Afsha was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.54. 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 116 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.90 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
1 for Mahmoud Shabana, marked 7.94, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad 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 Ittihad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ittihad will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Gennesh 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.
23 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Canaria 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.
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Karim El Deeb 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.
36 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad 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 Ittihad is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Gennesh 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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: Afsha. 2‑1 against El Dakhleya, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Canaria 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
A 2‑0 win over Arab Contractors, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 8.38 — 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Canaria 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.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 19 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria 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 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.
15 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ittihad 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
5 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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youssef Nader will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ittihad the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Canaria 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 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Mahmoud Alaa 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 a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
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 34 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.
Canaria 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Afsha is still paying for one afternoon at Ittihad
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sobhy Soliman will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ittihad 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Mohamed Tony 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Youssef Nader will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ittihad 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 Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Canaria is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.72 on the card, and the Ittihad support went home talking about one name.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Canaria's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Canaria 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Tony is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
Canaria 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.
4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mabululu 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. Mahmoud 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bassem 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Karim El Shenawy 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. Ali Warda 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.
Canaria 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Tony 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 keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ittihad, another week without a signature from Mabululu.
Mahmoud Alaa 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.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Canaria trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.