كتب : وكالات
How would you estimate Egypt's chances of reaching the World Cup?
I think we've a very good chance of reaching the World Cup. The surrounding circumstances are right this time around, and winning back to back African Cups gave us massive confidence. We are also drawn in a balanced group, but I'm a bit worried about the away games against Zambia and Rwanda. Smaller teams can be tough to play against because they play randomly and they have nothing to lose.
The Egyptian pool has now got a large number of good players; do you count on competitiveness in improving your players' levels?
Of course it's very helpful to have many good players at your disposal. It increases their will to be consistent and their desire to do better for Egypt in both trainings and games. In the African Cup of Nations (CAN) 2008, it was a great advantage for us to have big names on the bench and many games were won because of the right substitutes.
Do you agree that many Egypt regulars are currently suffering from a drop in displays with their clubs?
I don’t want to solely blame the players for their poor league displays. When they underperform it's also because of the climates in their clubs. But we know how to get the best of them when they play for Egypt. When Essam Al-Hadari plays alongside Hani Saied, Wael Gomaa and Ahmed Samir Farag, they are much better than when they separately play for their clubs.
Egypt has always depended on long training camps ahead of important games. How will you cope with the qualifiers' packed schedule?
Of course we won't have the chance to arrange long camps between qualifiers. But now we are African champions, and our players have to be confident and professional enough to handle meeting just few days before big games.
How did you manage to control some of the Egypt stars' attitude, especially after winning two successive African cups?
The most important thing we follow is the equality in dealing with all players. Whether it is financial or mental equality, it enabled us to have a healthy atmosphere among all players, who all have the utmost respect to the technical staff.
Some foreign-based players don’t regularly play for the clubs like Mohamed Shawky but are still called-up for Egypt. What are the basics you pick European-based players upon?
We look differently to our European-based players, because the fact that they train in some of the continent's best clubs let alone play in the English and German leagues gives them an advantage over their locally-based counterparts.
What about Egyptians playing in the Arab Gulf countries like Emad Meteb and Hosni Abd-Rabou?
Meteb and Abd-Rabou were already integral figures in the Egypt squad, so as long as they play regularly in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates we'll call them up. As for players who leave for the Gulf leagues, they have lower chances of receiving a call up as most of them leave for financial reasons or to escape problems with their clubs rather than for a footballing ambition.
Do you agree that Essam Al-Hadari is the only reliable keeper for the Pharaohs?
There is a big gap between Al-Hadari and all other Egyptian keepers. We have good guardians like Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed, Al-Hani Soliman and Amir Abdul-Hamid, but Al-Hadari will still be our number one.
Do we have a similar problem at the left-back position?
We've had this problem since the unfortunate death of Mohamed Abdul-Wahab. Players who replaced him suffered from inconsistency. Now we have Ahmed Samir Farag but we're still looking for others who have the character to play for Egypt at this position. We are also considering deploying Mohamed Barakat or Ahmed Fathi at left-back.
What about Shikabala? Can he be considered to fill this void?
Shikabala is a very good player, but his problem is that he's not even playing enough for Zamalek. Once he does that and reaches his full potential we'll consider him for a place in the team then see where he can be of best use.
Some players like Ahmed Hassan Farag lost their place in the Egypt squad after moving to Ahli and failing to secure a regular spot with the Red Devils. Do you think he was right to leave Mahalla in the summer?
Every player needs to thoroughly consider his position before joining Ahli. Farag was already a star at Mahalla and maybe he did not need to join Ahli. Now he needs to play regularly – which I think is unlikely - in order to retain his Egypt spot.
On the personal level, would you be happy to stay on as Egypt assistant, or you'd like to be the first man with another team?
Firstly, I have to say that I'm very happy working alongside Hassan Shehata for the Egyptian national side, but that is an experience that I won't pursue after the 2010 World Cup. I've enjoyed success as head coach with the Egyptian under 20 team and produced a number of good players through working with the Olympic team, and I wish to repeat those achievements with Egypt or somewhere else.
I say that if Shehata ever decides to leave his post, I should take over his place. I've been working with the team long enough and my achievements have earned me this right.