Wael Gomaa

Wael Gomaa
وائل جمعة
Gomaa with Al Ahly in 2011
Personal information
Full name Wael Kamel Gomaa El Hawty[1]
Date of birth (1975-08-03) 3 August 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth Kotoor, Gharbia, Egypt
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
Ghazl El Mahalla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–2001 Ghazl El Mahalla 82 (6)
2001–2014 Al Ahly 213 (10)
2007–2008 → Al-Sailiya (loan) 29 (10)
Total 324 (26)
International career
2001–2013 Egypt 114 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Wael Kamel Gomaa El Hawty (Arabic: وائل كامل جمعة الحوتي; born 3 August 1975) is an Egyptian retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is regarded as one of the best African defenders of all time.[3]

Club career

Gomaa's performances with Ghazl El Mahalla in the 2000–01 season earned him a move to Al Ahly after the Egypt Cup final match with Ghazl El Mahalla against Al Ahly.

He made his debut for Al Ahly in a friendly match against Real Madrid in August 2001. His official debut was in the match against Angolan side Petro Atletico in CAF Champions League 2001 on 12 August in Luanda.

He is known for his passing accuracy and the ability to score from corners and free kicks. He can also score powerful headers, as evidenced by his goal in the CAF Champions League 2008 final against Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon.[4]

In the 2006–07 season, he had pre-season trials with Blackburn Rovers with a view to a January transfer.[5][6]

In week 23 of the 2010–11 season, in his 200th appearance for Al Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League, he conceded a penalty for Haras El Hodoud which Ahmed Abdel-Ghani missed.[7]

In February 2014, Gomaa announced that he would retire from football at the end of the season. In May 2014, he confirmed that he officially retired from football. He won 26 trophies with Al Ahly including six CAF Champions League titles. He won 113 caps for Egypt, helping the Pharaohs clinch three Africa Cup of Nations titles.

International career

Gomaa made his international debut on 26 April 2001 in a friendly match against South Korea.

He was pivotal in the Egypt national team's African Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008 and 2010. He appeared in every match for the Egyptian side in both tournaments, defending against top European league players such as Drogba, Eto'o, Manucho and Lomana LuaLua.

Gomaa was chosen by CAF in Best Africa XI three times, in 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Gomaa participated with Egypt in FIFA Confederations Cup and appeared in every match for the Egyptian side. He made his 100th International appearance for Egypt when Egypt played against Uganda on 8 January 2011 in the 2011 Nile Basin Tournament. During the tournament he scored his only international goal, against Kenya in the semi-final. Egypt went on to win the match 5–1.

Post-retirement advertising

In March 2014, Gomaa starred in a Coca-Cola advertisement that saw him get a lot of praise for his good spirit as he acted numerous different characters that had a chance to go to the FIFA World Cup with Coca-Cola after Egypt failed to qualify for the tournament. The ad received a lot of praise for its creativity and had widely received positive reviews.[8][9][10]

Honours

Al Ahly

Egypt

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2012 presented by Toyota: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 29 November 2012. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2012.
  2. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 December 2013. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2013.
  3. ^ Dove, Ed. "The 50 Greatest African Players of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. ^ تـــــاريخ الصخرة وائل جمـعة - منتديات بيتك. www.betk.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Gomaa to join Blackburn". Eurosport. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  6. ^ Walker "Wael Gomaa To Join Ooijer At Rovers". Vital Football, 23 August 2006. Retrieved on 15 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Banatmodern.com". forums.banatmodern.com. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  8. ^ "The loss of Wael Gomaa and the win of all Gomaa[s] | Think Marketing". Think Marketing. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  9. ^ "بالفيديو والصور| وائل جمعة يكشف عن موهبة تمثيلية". 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  10. ^ اعلان وائل جمعة الجديد لكوكاكولا يشعل الفيس بوك بالفيديو. حب مصر (in Arabic). 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.