Mido: Fathi should be Egypt’s captain ahead of Salah

by Staff Reporter

Sunday Oct 06, 2019. 10:00

According to former Egypt international Ahmed ‘Mido’ Hossam, veteran Ahmed Fathi should be the captain of the Pharaohs ahead of Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah.

Media reports in Egypt have suggested that new national team manager Hossam El Badry will choose Salah as his skipper.

However, ‘Mido’ – who is currently the manager of Egyptian club Misr El Makkasa – has suggested that veteran wingback/midfielder Ahmed Fathi should wear the armband ahead of Salah, if he is selected into the squad.

“Salah can get the national team’s captain’s armband even with the presence of Abdallah El-Said. Because even though he is the best playmaker in Egypt it is acceptable for Salah to be captain in his presence,” Mido told Sada El-Balad TV channel, as quoted by KingFut.

“However if Ahmed Fathi is called-up for the national team, he’d deserve it more than Salah because he has been playing for the Egyptian national team for 17 years,” he concluded.

Fathi’s vast experience and past achievements certainly make him a compelling candidate for the captain’s position. He has 129 caps under his belt, was part of the golden generation which won three Africa Cup of Nations titles in a row from 2006 to 2010, and also appeared at the 2018 World Cup.

Salah, though, is clearly Egypt’s most gifted player and already has 41 goals from 67 appearances. If he continues with such a strike rate, he will surely eclipse Hossam Hassan’s all-time Egyptian record of 69 goals. As such a talisman, he too has a strong case to wear the armband.

Egypt will be in action later this month when they host Botswana in an international friendly. El Badry has opted against calling up Salah, giving him some much needed rest after having little time off in between seasons.