Players are in different cadres, ranging from skillful, defensive, raw to dynamic. But never in the illustrious history of the Africa cup of nations has a player arose in the similitude of Egyptian former professional football player, Mohammed Nagy Ismail Afash.
Given the moniker ‘Gedo’, the former forward popularized the art of the contemporary day ‘super sub.’ Gedo lived for the big moments; he was truly an effulgence of predatory instincts, arts, proficiency and undeniable attacking impetus.
Although Mohamed Nagy may not be a household name nor placed on a high pedestal by some African football lovers as his compatriots Hossam Hassan, Ahmed Hassan, Essam El-Haddary, Mohamed Aboutrika and Mohammed Salah are, Gedo was at the heart and on the lip of all Egyptians 14 years ago, as he left an indelible mark on Egyptian football and the African game at large.
The Great Scandal (The Beginning)
Born on October 30, 1984 was Mohamed Nagy Ismail Afash, as named at birth. Nagy Ismail Afash was predominantly referred to as ‘Gedo’, which translates to Grandpa in Egyptian Arabic.
The Egyptian forward began his career at the Hosh Essam Youth Center, later moving from there at the age of 17 to join Al Ala’ab Damanhour, a club in the Egyptian Second Division.
After a stint at Damanhour, Gedo joined Al-Ittihad Al-Sakndary in 2005 before finally gaining the recognition he deserved with a move to Al Ahly in the 2010/2011 campaign after he had initially shown glimpses and potentials of a world beater in the 2010 AFCON.
The most successful Egyptian club, Al Ahly, came knocking at the door of the industrious Gedo. His performances after the 2010 AFCON pipped fierce Egyptian rivals Zamalek and Ahly against each other, with both clubs vying for the signature of the hottest prospect in Egyptian football at the time.
Ultimately, Ahly won the race for the signature of Gedo who ditched Zamalek in the process, of which he was fined 2,200,200 Egyptian pounds after failing to honor his verbal agreement he had in place with Zamalek to join them prior to Ahly’s approach; the Egyptian Football Association, who presided over the transfer brouhaha ensued that Gedo paid the fine, after he had admittedly told the FA he was on the verge of joining Zamalek.
Grandpa for the grand moments!
As his name, Gedo, translates in Egyptian Arabic as Grandpa, so were his performances displayed in Africa’s biggest continental showpiece, AFCON.
Gedo, who was handed his maiden call-up to the National setup by legendary coach, Hasshan Shehata, after his breakout 2009/2010 season where he bagged 16 goals in all competitions for Al-Ittihad, debuted against Malawi in 2009.
Egypt headed into the 2010 finals as the defending champions after emulating Cameroon’s outstanding feat of winning consecutive titles; The Indomitable Lions won successive titles in 2000 and 2002, but their remarkable feat was matched when Ahmed Hassan hoisted the coveted Afcon trophy at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium, up heaving the trophy with the same magnitude and class he had showcased two years earlier on home soil in Cairo.
The mandate was set as history beckoned for the Egyptians who had maintained a core of their trophy winning sides from the previous two editions.
Hassan Shehata who had etched his name in the annals of African football alongside C.K Gyamfi of Ghana as the only managers to win consecutive titles with the same nation, was ravenous to attain a distinct mark as the first man to win the trophy thrice on the trot.
His inclusion of Gedo raised slight eye brows due to the forward being anonymous amongst a list of Bona fide Egyptian stars.
Gedo attested to this as he indicated that he was highly astonished to have been included in Egypt’s final squad for the tournament, saying he only discovered his inclusion in the final squad via the internet.
However, during the pre-tournament friendly game against Mali in Dubai on January 4, 2010, Gedo was off the mark for Egypt as he came of the bench to score the only goal of the game for the Egyptians in a 1-0 win; a sign of what was to come from ‘Grandpa’
Well over a week after his lone goal for the Pharaoh’s over Mali, Egypt began their title defense against Nigeria on January 12,2010 at the Complexo Da Sr da Graca, netting three times in a dominant display over a bewildered Super Eagles side who were pecked back after going a goal up in the 12th minute through Obasi.
The game was very much on a knife edge heading into the closing stages before second half substitute, Gedo, secured maximum points for Egypt on his tournament bow.
Unfazed by the occasion was Gedo, whose first international cameo had people back home jeering and demanding his inclusion in the next game against Mozambique.
But once again Gedo had to settle for a place on the bench against Mozambique, despite sealing victory for Egypt in the previous fixture.
Egypt won the game 2-0, with Gedo coming off the bench to score the 2nd goal after Mozambique had put through their own net in the 47th minute; His goal was scored in the 81st minute.
After Egypt had secured maximum points against Mozambique, qualification was all but sealed for the Egyptians, as the Pharaohs needed to avoid a defeat against Benin in their last game to have secured top spot in group C.
El Mohamady and Moteeab provided the much needed cushion for Egypt with 2 smart first half finishes, allowing the Pharaoh’s to have a stroll in the park after the recess.
The much-acclimatized scene of Gedo’s arms lofted in the air and wailing away from his teammates with a broad smile on his face, making his way to the corner flag was not seen, as the forward was amusingly not on the scoresheet.
The task was accomplished as the defending champions advanced to the quarter-final with a perfect and enviable record.
As the knockout stages, the most important stage of the AFCON beckoned, Egypt were paired against Cameroon, who had finished as runners-up to Zambia in Group C and were desperate to avenge the loss they had suffered at the hands of Egypt two years prior in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The match lived up to the billing as the game traveled the mile into extra time. The scoreline after regulation time stood at 1-1 until, who else, but Gedo maneuvered his way in the 92nd minute of extra time and added a second goal to Ahmed Hassan’s first to ensure the Egyptian’s tails were up, and firmly in control of the tie.
Hammed Hassan later grabbed his brace to help Egypt to a resounding 3-1 victory and book a place in the semi-final, eliminating Cameroon in the process.
At this point, dethroning Egypt became an uphill and insurmountable task; after winning the AFCON consecutively in 2006 and 2008, the Egyptians showed no signs of slowing down, with their appearance in the semi-final adding gloss to what had been a statement performance all tournament.
In the semi-final, they met North African neighbors and foes, Algeria, in a North African Derby. Egypt were the much fancied side to sail through to meet Ghana, who had beaten Nigeria earlier on the same night by a lone Asamoah Gyan goal. The Egyptians were on the front foot for much of the game and went in at the break with a 1-0 lead courtesy Abd Rabo from the spot.
The pep talk at the break seemed to reignite the Egyptians, with the possibility of winning the AFCON for a record consecutive third time on their minds. Egypt was well and truly on the cusp of greatness!
2008 poster boy, Zidan found the back of the net just after the hour mark before Abdel Shafy added another with 10 minutes to time. The icing on the cake was done by Gedo, as he came off the bench and got his customary substitute goal.
His late injury time fourth goal against Algeria sent Gedo’s personal goal tally at the AFCON to (4), putting him in the running for the Golden boot heading into the final game against a relatively young Ghanaian side.
The final game of the 2010 AFCON took place at the 11 November stadium in Angola. It proved to be a game of two tales; For Egypt, they were in the running for a record seventh title and were also looking to lay down a marker on African football by becoming the first side to win the AFCON on three consecutive ocassions. Whereas Ghana was looking to break a 28-year AFCON trophy drought, existing for 18 years prior to the final on January 31.
The stage was set as West Africa and North Africa looked to do battle in southwestern Africa.
The match proved to be challenging as both teams gave little away in a fiercely contested encounter. Although the contest was level at the break, the odds were heavily on the side of the Egyptians who had maintained a core of their trophy winning set up in the previous 2 editions and were much tipped to over come a relatively youthful Ghanaian side led by head coach, Milovan Rajevac— who later went on in the summer to etch his name into the folklore of African football by helping Ghana to a Quarter-final finish on the World Stage.
Betting against Egypt to pull a rabbit out of the hat was at your own peril; Gedo,who had been a torn in the flesh for opposing defenses throughout the competition, was pacing up and down on the touch lines as the second half wore on, waiting for his opportunity to make his mark.
Undoubtedly, the time for Gedo to enter the fray arrived. He was introduced as a substitute to replace Abdul; as he had done all tournament, coming on for his 6th and final substitute appearance.
The Egyptians fans reveled in the stands upon seeing Gedo stripped and ready to join the fray. There were euphoric celebrations upon his entrance into the game, one that suggested Egypt had scored a goal, such was the ambiance that Gedo was entreated with when he was heading on the pitch.
A breath of fresh air, a soul lifting and historic substitution. Hassan Shehata, who was also looking to become the first coach to win 3 AFCON trophies, threw on the last piece of the jigsaw.
The hope of Egypt rested on an inexperienced Gedo, who was making his first tournament appearance. But the narrative would change.
Gedo was not carried away by the occasion nor thrown into an emotional tantrum by sects of the Egyptian supporters.
Gedo proved his mettle when he interchanged a quick one-two pass with Zidan around the edge of Ghana’s box before dragging the follow-up shot into the far post, beyond the reach of an outstretched Richard Kingston, who could do nothing about it. The stadium erupted, Egyptians roared across Luanda with utter elation and euphoric celebrations as Mohamed Asfar delivered on the grandest stage.
Gedo’s 5th goal of the tournament proved to be the most important one, as it secured a historic 7th title for Egypt and also helped the Egyptians three-peat the AFCON. Mohammed Gedo was duly rewarded at the end of the tournament as the highest scoring player with 5 goals.
But far from his goal scoring exploits, what stood out about GEDO’s stupendous performances was his goal per minute ratio. Due to his substitute appearances across the competition, Gedo was limited to a total of 175 minutes throughout out the tournament. To put that into further perspective, that’s less than 2 full soccer games.
However, Gedo proved that being clinical pays, amassing a goal every 35 minute on the pitch, setting a new personal high in what was a record-breaking Egyptian night and campaign. It was a clean sweep for Egypt as goalkeeper Essam El Hadary won the golden glove, coupled with Hassam Hassan winning the golden ball.
Before that, Gedo won the golden boot on top of winning the ultimate crown, an unprecedented 7th AFCON trophy.
Mohamed Nagy showcased great attacking impetus by not only scoring but finding goals at the right time; all of his goals were scored from the 80th minute thereof, netting in the 87th, 81st, 92nd, 92nd and 85th minutes— a clutch player!
He was at the right place at the right time whenever Egypt needed him, leaving a void in the team as the National side failed to qualify for the next 3 tournaments after 2010 and failed to win the tournament since the ‘wildcard’, Gedo, performed beyond expectations.
In some parts of Egypt, they believe Gedo was mythical, eccentric and specially sent by the gods to meet their needs. And never will a player of his caliber arise on the horizon — the last of his kind!
–
Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers.ug.edu.gh
