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Thursday, 3 September 2026dailybeirut.com
Football
Egyptian forward Omar Meremosh shared a farewell video with Erling Haaland before joining Tottenham on loan, featuring hugs, jokes about training together, and a lighthearted Snapchat reminder.
Egyptian striker Omar Meremosh, currently on loan at English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur from Manchester City, posted a video bidding farewell to his Norwegian teammate Erling Haaland.
Their close friendship began after Haaland’s winter transfer last year from Eintracht Frankfurt to Manchester City — a period during which Meremosh was also at City before his loan move.
In the clip, Haaland embraces Meremosh and says: “Get ready — we’ll train together soon,” as both laugh.
Haaland jokingly asks Meremosh to keep attending training sessions with City, but the Egyptian international replies that he must train elsewhere — a reference to Tottenham.
Haaland then wishes Meremosh success in his new challenge and informs him his flight departs at 3 a.m.
At the end of the exchange, Haaland playfully urges Meremosh not to deceive him on the social media platform Snapchat and not to ignore him there.
Meremosh joined Tottenham on a season-long loan to seek more playing time. He made his debut for the club against Newcastle United, a match Tottenham lost 2–0.
During his one-and-a-half seasons at the Etihad Stadium, Meremosh appeared in 62 matches across all competitions, scoring 16 goals and providing six assists.
Badr Ragab, former Al Ahly player and ex-head of youth sector at the Cairo-based club, spoke about discovering current FC Barcelona forward Hamza Abdelkarim.
Ragab assumed the role of head coach of Al Ahly’s youth sector in May 2023. In July 2025, he transitioned to serve as head of the youth sector at Al Bank Al Ahly Club.
He played a major role in developing key talents within Al Ahly’s youth ranks, most notably Hamza Abdelkarim — now at Barcelona — and Karim El-Dibis, who currently plays for Al Masry’s first team.
Ragab initially worked under Dutch expert Wiel Coerver before moving to Al Jazira Club in the UAE, then returning to Al Ahly as youth sector head coach. He now holds the position of youth sector head at Al Bank Al Ahly.
In an interview with Al Ain Sports, Ragab stated: “The crisis is the lack of expert eyes to spot talent in the youth sector. We had Hamza Abdelkarim with us, and I promoted him to play with the 2007 team instead of the 2009 team. I fought to promote him to the first team and asked Wael Soliman, head of the youth sector, and his deputy Mohamed Shawky to pay attention to him.”
He added: “I recognized his finishing ability, technical quality, and capacity to convert half-chances into goals — the same qualities German coach Hansi Flick now highlights about him.”
Flick has praised Abdelkarim’s abilities following his standout performances during Barcelona’s 2026–2027 preseason, where the player scored four goals against Birmingham City, Basel, and Al Ahly.
Ragab discussed Abdelkarim’s first contract with Al Ahly, explaining: “Hamza Abdelkarim’s talent imposed itself from the start and led directly to his first professional contract with Al Ahly. Without that, he would have left the club without the club benefiting financially.”
Al Ahly successfully transferred Abdelkarim to Barcelona for €1.5 million, with performance-based bonuses potentially raising the total value to around €5 million, plus a 15% sell-on clause.
Ragab noted that other Egyptian talents could succeed in European football if given the right conditions.
He revealed having previously recommended Al Ahly sign Mahmoud Salah, who joined the club this summer for approximately EGP 50 million.
Ragab said: “I recommended signing Mahmoud Salah for EGP 500,000 and submitted his name to the relevant committee, but nothing progressed afterward.”
He elaborated: “When Karim El-Dibis, Mohamed Abdullah, and Ahmed Khaled (Kabaka) left the team, I expected them to return — and they did, because they possess talent.”
Ragab criticized former Al Ahly managers — Portuguese Manuel José, Swiss Marcel Koller, and South African Pitso Mosimane — for relying heavily on purchased signings rather than promoting youth players.
He believes those coaches failed to replicate their Al Ahly successes elsewhere due to the absence of comparable institutional support at subsequent clubs.
Ragab affirmed that while Egypt possesses higher-caliber talent than many countries, it suffers from inadequate talent identification and lacks an optimal environment for nurturing young players.
He added: “We contribute to killing and dismantling talent. But as long as regional clubs like Al Mansoura, Al Minufiyah, Ismaily, and Upper Egypt clubs remain active, talent will continue to emerge.”
On structural issues in Egyptian youth development, he observed: “In the ‘Bra’ (under-12) stage, players learn; in the ‘Nashieen’ (under-18) stage, they train.”
He continued: “But the crisis lies in coaches who understand nothing — and in administrations. There is suffering due to low coaching salaries.”
Ragab stressed that Egyptian Football Association tournaments for Bra and Nashieen teams are “fictional and unsuitable,” adding: “A coach earning a low salary may accept a bribe to field one player over another who deserves it.”
One issue Ragab raised is the frequent absence of fundamental football skills among Egyptian youth players.
He explained: “He who lacks something cannot give it. Some coaches themselves lack basic skills needed to teach them to children — instead, they learn from the kids.”
He added: “Players do not perform required drills correctly — if asked to do 100 sit-ups, they do only 10.”
He noted a gap in tactical awareness: “There is no tactical awareness. Games are played in 5- or 7-player formations, which differs significantly from 11-a-side football — creating a developmental gap.”
Ragab pointed to the lack of direct interaction between Egyptian youth players and foreign coaches: “There is a foreign coach with a translator relaying information — a process requiring extra time. Delayed transmission of instructions causes problems.”
He concluded: “Experience matters more than certificates some coaches obtain. A coach must possess technical ability to convince the players he leads.”
