Egyptian football player, Ahmed Elmohamady, turns 30 today *automatically sings “Sana Helwa Ya Gameel“* and there is no other way to honor Egypt’s longest serving football player in England other than by looking back to some of his unforgettable moments and achievements.
Firstly, Elmohamady’s record has surpassed ex-Spurs striker, Ahmed Hossam, AKA Mido, by almost double the minutes played in England’s top tier, the English Premier League. The legendary footballer has played a staggering 12,518 minutes in the EPL, while Mido only played 5,751 minutes. This is understandable, however, since Mido was only featured in 94 matches in the EPL. Elmohamady, on the other hand, was included in 165 appearances, as well as played in 88 matches.
It’s no surprise that the Egyptian football wizard remained in England all that time, as his relationship with Steve Bruce, current manager at Aston Villa, is a better love story than any Nicholas Sparks novel!
Bruce bought Elmohamady from Enppi when he was managing Sunderland in 2011, and when the world renowned manager moved to Hull City in 2012, he loaned the footballer with him to the Tigers, until he finally bought him in 2013. When Bruce left Hull City for Aston Villa in 2017, guess who came along with him? Elmohamady!
We all know Diego Maradona’s handball goal against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup which is now known as the hand of god. Well, Elmohamady lead the headlines in England after he received a yellow card against Manchester City in 2015. Why, you say? Well, he was caught scoring a goal with his hand in a Maradona-esque way.
Finally, the part that physically pains me the most to relive, is when Elmohamady basically humiliated ex-Manchester United and ex-England skipper, Wayne Rooney, with his out of this world footie skills. As a Manchester United supporter and Wayne Rooney’s biggest fan, I wasn’t sure whether to be really happy or really mad. However, there is no doubt that Elmohamady is a force to be reckoned with in the world of football. Kudos, Elmo!