Wael Gomaa
 Gomaa with Al Ahly in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wael Kamel Gomaa El Hawty[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 3 August 1975 | ||
| 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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Al Ahly
- Egyptian Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2013–14
- Egypt Cup: 2003, 2006, 2007
- Egyptian Super Cup: 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012
- CAF Champions League: 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013
- CAF Super Cup: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014
Egypt
Individual
- CAF Team of the Year: 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010
- World Military Cup best player: 2001
- African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2006, 2008, 2010
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Dove, Ed. "The 50 Greatest African Players of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ^ تـــــاريخ الصخرة وائل جمـعة - منتديات بيتك. www.betk.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ^ "Gomaa to join Blackburn". Eurosport. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Walker "Wael Gomaa To Join Ooijer At Rovers". Vital Football, 23 August 2006. Retrieved on 15 May 2010.
- ^ "Banatmodern.com". forums.banatmodern.com. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "The loss of Wael Gomaa and the win of all Gomaa[s] | Think Marketing". Think Marketing. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "بالفيديو والصور| وائل جمعة يكشف عن موهبة تمثيلية". 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ اعلان وائل جمعة الجديد لكوكاكولا يشعل الفيس بوك بالفيديو. حب مصر (in Arabic). 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
External links
[edit]- Wael Gomaa – UEFA competition record (archive)
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- 1975 births
- Living people
- Egyptian Muslims
- Egyptian men's footballers
- Egyptian expatriate men's footballers
- Al Ahly SC players
- Egypt men's international footballers
- 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 2002 African Cup of Nations players
- 2004 African Cup of Nations players
- 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players
- 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players
- 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players
- Africa Cup of Nations–winning players
- Men's association football defenders
- Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar
- Al-Sailiya SC players
- FIFA Men's Century Club
- Egyptian Premier League players
- Qatar Stars League players
- Egyptian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
- People from Gharbia Governorate
- CAF Champions League–winning players