Franck Boli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Franck Boli 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 touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Wadi Degla will not try tonight.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mohamed Sobhi signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.16 — 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.
Franck Boli 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.
Marked 9.09 — 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.
It needed Ahmed Scholes to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Masr El Makasa, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Marked 8.84 — 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.
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
SquadAdil Djabout asks for a word with the manager
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Ahmed Magdy
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Mohamed Sobhi knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Franck Boli 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 Mees Kaandorp signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Franck Boli could not do
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Franck Boli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Franck Boli. 2‑1 against Ghazl El Mahalla, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.64 — 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 defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Amr El Gazar trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wadi Degla, 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 Wadi Degla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Franck Boli 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 Mees Kaandorp signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Smouha? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Karim Zaki is a Wadi Degla player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
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.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Amr Sobhi is a Wadi Degla player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
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.
Marked 8.71 — 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.
In brief
BoardroomA promise the Wadi Degla board did not keep
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Khaled Aboziada will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wadi Degla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Mees Kaandorp 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 Mohamed Sobhi signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Takaaki Shichi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla can pretend not to have heard.
Mees Kaandorp was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A new face in his position, and Danijel Miškić suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Wadi Degla have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla 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.” Mahmoud Ahmed Morsi and Wadi Degla agree another 3 years.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wadi Degla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Khaled Aboziada will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wadi Degla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Mees Kaandorp 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Stéphane Acka has his answer from Wadi Degla; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mohamed Sobhi signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mees Kaandorp was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Mohamed Abdelaati 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.
Nasreddine Zaâlani arrives at 37 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
“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 Wadi Degla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mees Kaandorp 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 Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mees Kaandorp 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 Mohamed Sobhi signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
BoardroomThe Wadi Degla production line keeps running
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mees Kaandorp was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Chavira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mees Kaandorp 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 Mohamed Sobhi signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Mees Kaandorp 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 decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abdelrahman Amer and Wadi Degla agree another 2 years.
Marked 9.31 — 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.
“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 Wadi Degla, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The terracesThe press have found their man in Mohamed Sobhi
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.14 — 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wadi Degla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Chavira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Mees Kaandorp 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 Mohamed Sobhi signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 Wadi Degla, 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.” Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mees Kaandorp. 3‑2 against El Dakhleya, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
1‑4 to Al Ahly, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Wadi Degla pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Boardroom11 Feb 2030
Nobody left the Wadi Degla dressing room in a hurry
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.
10 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wadi Degla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mees Kaandorp 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 afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla 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.” Ken-Gaston Koumous and Wadi Degla agree another 4 years.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Franck Boli could not do
“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 Wadi Degla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mees Kaandorp was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Mohamed Abdelaati 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 Wadi Degla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Marked 9.35 — 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.
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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Franck Boli 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.
Marked 8.84 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.77 — 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Takaaki Shichi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mohamed Abdelaati and Wadi Degla agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.71 — 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.
3 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Adham Hamed obliged against Smouha. 1‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Wadi Degla.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Marked 8.49 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.04 — 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.
Marked 8.73 — 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.
Marked 8.68 — 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 Wadi Degla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.04 — 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“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 Wadi Degla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Franck Boli 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.
Marked 8.48 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Franck Boli. 2‑1 against El Dakhleya, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wadi Degla, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 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 Wadi Degla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Franck Boli 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 afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Franck Boli 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.
Marked 8.90 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.06 — 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.
Marked 8.10 — 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Mohamed Sobhi knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Wadi Degla will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Chavira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wadi Degla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Mees Kaandorp 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 mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Wadi Degla are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Youssef Oya. 3‑2 against Petrojet, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 9.41 — 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.
Marked 8.79 — 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.
Abdelrahman Amer arrives at 37 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wadi Degla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla can pretend not to have heard.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Marked 9.24 — 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everyone has stopped pretending: USM Khenchela will make the call about Oren Levi this week. Wadi Degla have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Mohamed Sobhi knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 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 Wadi Degla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
The shirt still fits. Ibrahim El Mohamady is back at Wadi Degla, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla can pretend not to have heard.
Franck Boli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Wadi Degla know it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wadi Degla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Franck Boli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wadi Degla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Wadi Degla, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Masr El Makasa for Mohamed El Mohamady 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.
Franck Boli 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
A new partner, a signature and a photograph nobody will remember. It funds a fortnight of wages, which is more than most headlines on this page can say for themselves.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Chavira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wadi Degla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Franck Boli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Khaled Aboziada trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
BoardroomThe Wadi Degla production line keeps running
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Franck Boli 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.
Takaaki Shichi is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Wadi Degla has been clear about where Hesham Mohamed stands, which is more than many ever get.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Franck Boli 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Franck Boli 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Chavira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Franck Boli 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.08, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wadi Degla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Marked 8.83 — 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Adham Hamed. 1‑0 against Ismaily, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Marked 9.23 — 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.
Marked 8.44 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A season average of 7.07 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Wadi Degla know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Franck Boli 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“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 Wadi Degla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Chavira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Franck Boli. 2‑1 against Police Union, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.56 — 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.
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.
Franck Boli 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.
Marked 8.41 — 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Wadi Degla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Franck Boli
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A season average of 7.05 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Wadi Degla know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Wadi Degla pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Franck Boli 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 Franck Boli signs something — a contract at Wadi Degla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla 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.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Mohamed El Mohamady reports back to Wadi Degla with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Mohamed Abdelaati 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.
Marked 8.93 — 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.
Marked 8.66 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla can pretend not to have heard.
Franck Boli 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Marked 8.09 — 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 shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Mohamed Sobhi: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wadi Degla 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 Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ahmed Magdy. 2‑1 against Ghazl El Mahalla, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Mees Kaandorp 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.
Marked 8.44 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wadi Degla can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Wadi Degla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wadi Degla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.28 — 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.
Marked 9.29 — 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.
Mees Kaandorp was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Wadi Degla has been clear about where Samir Fekri stands, which is more than many ever get.
It needed Ahmed Magdy to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Military Production, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.