Mohamed Zidan
Encyclopedia
Mohamed Abdullah Zidan (born December 11, 1981 in Port Said
) is an Egypt
ian footballer. He currently plays as a striker for the German
club Borussia Dortmund
as well as the Egyptian national team. Nicknamed "Zizou", he is known for putting unique designs in his hair.
, Egypt
, to an Egyptian family. His career started as a striker for his hometown club Al-Masry
in 1998. Al-Masry dropped Zidan because of a perceived lack of passing ability leading to his family moving to Denmark. In his first year in Denmark, while training with B93 for a contract, he played a few games for the Danish-Turkish club FC Anatolien, now Kokkedal BK, in Nivå in the Northern Seeland of Denmark. Zidan was scouted by the Danish Superliga
club Akademisk Boldklub
(AB) while he was juggling a ball at a Danish park in 1999. In June 2003, he moved to the league rivals FC Midtjylland
(FCM), as AB experienced financial hardship. At FCM, he became the league's top scorer in the 2003–04 season, and he was awarded the Rookie of the year award, becoming Player of the Year the following season. In all, he scored 30 goals in 47 appearances for FC Midtjylland, and especially his nine goals in the first three games of FCM's newly built SAS Arena
stadium, made the stadium colloquially known as "Zidan Arena". Also, his number 14 shirt was retired.
club SV Werder Bremen
for a fee of 3 million Euros and was awarded the number 9 jersey. Initially, the striker made quite an impression with the general public, having scored 10 goals in three friendly games for Bremen. Even though he scored an official goal in his first two appearances, he was loaned out to 1. FSV Mainz 05
for the remainder of the 2005–06 season. He went on to score nine goals in 26 appearances, seven as a substitute. In the 2006–07 pre-season friendly matches, he retained his form with Werder Bremen, starting six of the seven matches he has played and scoring four goals. Zidan's performance in the semi-final match of the German League Cup
against Hamburger SV
, on August 1, 2006, including bagging a goal in the 50th minute, earned him the man of the match
award and ensured his club's qualification to the cup final.
However, after a trail of injuries, Zidan was on the receiving end of less playing time. After months of speculations, following the limited playing time and injuries, Werder Bremen announced that, on January 16, 2007, Zidan would be transferred to Mainz for a reported 3 million Euros which made it the largest ever purchase in the club's history, passing his medical on January 17. He scored six goals in the first 5 matches with new club, catapulting the team from last to 10th place on March 1, 2007 with 27 points. The Egyptian talent also received 50% of votes by "Kicker" magazine and earned himself the title of "Player of the year" in February in Germany, while Mainz became "Team of the Month" in the German Bundesliga.
Fans of Mainz loved Zidan since his loan spell with the red shirt in which he managed to dazzle them with his skills, talent, and goals. The most notable show of talent was in a game against Bayern Munich
during the 2005–06 season. Zidan earned a man of the match award when he dribbled past Philipp Lahm
and scored against Oliver Kahn
. Whilst loaned to Mainz, Zidan even scored a goal against the club he was contracted to, Werder Bremen, in 14 seconds. This marked it as the fastest goal scored in the Bundesliga season and is ranked sixth as the quick fastest scored goals in the Bundesliga's history.
In an interview with Bild magazine in Germany, Zidan admitted that he had high aspirations and had ambitions to play in either "Barcelona, Real Madrid
, Liverpool
or Manchester United
". He stated that he wanted to play for Barcelona
within the next three years to play alongside Brazilian sensation Ronaldinho
or Liverpool
to play with Steven Gerrard
.
During the 2007 season Zidan contributed many spectacular goals, but could not save Mainz from relegation. The club had only been able to score 34 goals in the entire season, 13 of which, despite having played for less than half of a season, came from the Egyptian forward's feet. Unfortunately Zidan's hard-work and valuable solo contribution was insufficient to prevent Mainz from the depths of despair of being relegated to the second division. However, Zidan's work was noticed by number of top established clubs based in Spain, France and England as well as German Champions VfB Stuttgart
.
and several Spanish clubs
were named as possible future clubs. Mainz manager Christian Heidel was very keen to keep Zidan at the club, so the club could mount a promotion challenge for the 2007–08 2. Fußball-Bundesliga season. He was also known as the "hamburglar".
On 3. June 2007, Zidan passed a medical and thereby completed his move to Hamburger SV
. He said that he always wanted a move to the north-German club, because he still has many ties to Denmark
. The transfer fee was suspected to be about €4,5 million, and Zidan will be earning around €2,5 million per season.
Zidan was handed the number 7 shirt, a number previously worn by Hamburger SV prized player and Iranian captain, Mehdi Mahdavikia
. Zidan proved himself as a capable striker and could adjust to the new team in friendly games, often scoring when substituted or scoring four goals when he played the full game. Mohamed Zidan scored his first official goal for Hamburger SV in the away DFB-Pokal match versus Holstein Kiel
. However several appearances in Hamburg's start to the Bundesliga saw Zidan goalless, and often substituted off before the full 90 minutes of the game. Zidan however proved himself as a dangerous striker and playmaker, as he was brought on as a substitute against Bavarian giants Bayern Munich
on the 74th minute. Zidan scored his first Bundesliga goal for Hamburg in the 87th minute, with the goal bearing a lot of significance as it ended Bayern's early undefeated run in the competition and was the first goal that Oliver Kahn
had conceded up until then and was also the third goal that Zidan has scored against Bayern during his years in the Bundesliga.
He also scored Hamburg's only goal in the game against Real Madrid
in the Emirates Cup
which took place in the summer of 2008, and later only played one competitive game for Hamburg during the 2008–09 season, as a late substitute in the first round of the DFB-Pokal
against FC Ingolstadt 04
.
was confirmed by both clubs' official websites as part of a deal that also saw Croatian international
Mladen Petrić
moving in the opposite direction, with both players signing four-year contracts. Zidan suffered an injury in his knee that will stop him for playing for almost 6 months or more. Dortmund also confirmed they had received an officially undisclosed transfer fee, which is believed to be worth around 5 million euros. His transfer to Dortmund reunited him with former Mainz 05 coach, Jürgen Klopp
, who was in charge of the club during Zidan's two successful spells there in 2005–06 and the second half of the 2006–07 season. He received the number 10 shirt. His first appearance with Borussia Dortmund
was on August 23, 2008 against Bayern Munich
. The game ended 1–1.
On the 3rd May 2011, Borussia Dormund were crowned champions of the Bundesliga for the first time since 2002. During the celebration he brought his son Adam onto the pitch
sent a fax on December 23, 2005 to Mainz, asking for an international call-up for Zidan. There was no answer from Mainz or the player for that matter, and as a consequence he drew much criticism from the Egyptian fans and officials alike. He had allegedly chosen not to represent Egypt, as he felt he would lose his starting spot with Mainz, as he felt the Egyptian team had no chance in winning the cup. However in a recent interview, after Egypt had won the African Cup of Nations 2008, he stated that the reason he did not play in 2006 was because of a leg injury.
In a January 2006 interview with the Danish tabloid newspaper B.T.
, Zidan criticized the Egyptian Football Association for contacting Mainz during Christmas
time when everybody was on holiday, and said that the Egyptian national team should have talked to him personally, as they had with Tottenham Hotspur
striker Mido. He also said that the Egyptian head coach Shehata had not treated him well, and that the whole thing seemed too unprofessional for him. In April 2006, Hassan Shehata declared he would never again invite Mohamed Zidan to join the national team. He stated, "Zidan refused to join the team when we needed him most, before the Nations Cup. You can never count on these kind of players". During this time there was also talk about Zidan wanting to play for the Denmark national team
, if the Egyptian squad did not want him.
However, on August 5, 2006, just 11 days before Egypt's friendly match against Uruguay
, Shehata backed down over his former decision by calling Zidan up for the national team squad. However, Zidan remained doubtful for the friendly match against Uruguay due to an injury that forced him to miss Werder Bremen's season opener. Zidan was called to represent Egypt in the 2008 African Cup of Nations
qualification match against Burundi
, where he scored his first international goal only five minutes after kick-off, besides his overall impressive performance during the match.
Indeed, in Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations opening Group C match against Cameroon
, in a match hotly billed as the Group C decider for top and second spots in the group, Zidan turned in a sensational performance, scoring two superb goals, helping the African Champions' cause for defending their title during an impressive 4–2 victory.
Unofficially, he is widely credited for the lone goal in the final against Cameroon, as his great determination to fight for the ball and winning it dramatically from veteran defender Rigobert Song
led to him passing the assist to Mohamed Aboutreika
for the winning goal, which Zidan literally created from nowhere.
Zidan was not out of the woods yet when it comes to controversy as he was reportedly injured in training with the national team before their match with Angola, ART reporter said that he thought that Zidan is being "spoilt", and that he refused to continue the warm up and treatment for him before the game, this was denied by Shawky Gharib the Egyptian Head Coach, Zidan and the Manager Hassan Shehata.
After missing a few games and a few starts after the display in the opening Cameroon game, Zidan was used as a substitute on numerous occasions, always posing a great threat to the opposition. He was used in the Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2008 as a striker, sometimes a lone striker, a winger and an offensive midfielder and gave out battling displays. One of the most notable plays was in the final with Cameroon when he applied pressure on Cameroon legend Rigobert Song and effectively wrestling the ball out of the old defender's legs and managed to supply Aboutreika with the final's winning goal. He is renowned for leading Egypt to victory in the Africa Cup of Nations final, which gave Egypt two consecutive wins of the tournament.
In Egypt's opening 2009 Confederations Cup game, Zidan scored two goals against Brazil
in a 4–3 losing effort.
He was called again to join Egypt's squad for the Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010. He was Egypt's striker along with Emad Moteab
. He showed an outstanding performance in most of the matches specially in the opener against Nigeria
. He scored his only goal against Algeria
in a match that ended 4–0, before he assists another for Mohamed Abdel-Shafy
. Again, he supplies the final's winning goal, but not to Aboutreika this time, it was Mohamed Nagy Gedo who finished it in the net.
On March 3, 2010, he scored Egypt's only goal against England
in an international friendly which ended 3-1.
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
) is an Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian footballer. He currently plays as a striker for the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
club Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
as well as the Egyptian national team. Nicknamed "Zizou", he is known for putting unique designs in his hair.
Early career
Zidan was born in Port SaidPort Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, to an Egyptian family. His career started as a striker for his hometown club Al-Masry
Al-Masry
Al-Masry Sporting Club , is an Egyptian sporting club based in Port Said. Founded in 1920 by a group of Egyptians in Port Said to be the first club for the Egyptians in the city which was full of many other clubs for the foreign communities which inhabited Port Said...
in 1998. Al-Masry dropped Zidan because of a perceived lack of passing ability leading to his family moving to Denmark. In his first year in Denmark, while training with B93 for a contract, he played a few games for the Danish-Turkish club FC Anatolien, now Kokkedal BK, in Nivå in the Northern Seeland of Denmark. Zidan was scouted by the Danish Superliga
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
club Akademisk Boldklub
Akademisk Boldklub
Akademisk Boldklub or AB is a Danish professional football club from Copenhagen,currently playing at the second highest level in Danish domestic football, the 1st Division.-History:...
(AB) while he was juggling a ball at a Danish park in 1999. In June 2003, he moved to the league rivals FC Midtjylland
FC Midtjylland
FC Midtjylland is a professional Danish football team from Herning and Ikast. The team is a result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad...
(FCM), as AB experienced financial hardship. At FCM, he became the league's top scorer in the 2003–04 season, and he was awarded the Rookie of the year award, becoming Player of the Year the following season. In all, he scored 30 goals in 47 appearances for FC Midtjylland, and especially his nine goals in the first three games of FCM's newly built SAS Arena
SAS Arena
MCH Arena is a Danish football stadium. It is situated in Herning and is the home of FC Midtjylland. In the opening match, FCM won 6–0 against Akademisk Boldklub. Until 2009, the stadium was known as SAS Arena.Messecenter Herning owns the stadium...
stadium, made the stadium colloquially known as "Zidan Arena". Also, his number 14 shirt was retired.
Werder Bremen and Mainz 05
Zidan's performance in the Danish League had resulted in several top European clubs gaining interest in signing the striker. In the winter break of the 2004–05 season, he was bought by GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
club SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
for a fee of 3 million Euros and was awarded the number 9 jersey. Initially, the striker made quite an impression with the general public, having scored 10 goals in three friendly games for Bremen. Even though he scored an official goal in his first two appearances, he was loaned out to 1. FSV Mainz 05
1. FSV Mainz 05
1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05, or simply Mainz, is a 1905 founded German association football club based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to the football section the 1. FSV Mainz 05 has a handball and table tennis department...
for the remainder of the 2005–06 season. He went on to score nine goals in 26 appearances, seven as a substitute. In the 2006–07 pre-season friendly matches, he retained his form with Werder Bremen, starting six of the seven matches he has played and scoring four goals. Zidan's performance in the semi-final match of the German League Cup
DFB-Ligapokal
The DFB-Ligapokal, or German League Cup, was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous Fußball-Bundesliga season and the winners of the DFB-Pokal in Germany...
against Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
, on August 1, 2006, including bagging a goal in the 50th minute, earned him the man of the match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
award and ensured his club's qualification to the cup final.
However, after a trail of injuries, Zidan was on the receiving end of less playing time. After months of speculations, following the limited playing time and injuries, Werder Bremen announced that, on January 16, 2007, Zidan would be transferred to Mainz for a reported 3 million Euros which made it the largest ever purchase in the club's history, passing his medical on January 17. He scored six goals in the first 5 matches with new club, catapulting the team from last to 10th place on March 1, 2007 with 27 points. The Egyptian talent also received 50% of votes by "Kicker" magazine and earned himself the title of "Player of the year" in February in Germany, while Mainz became "Team of the Month" in the German Bundesliga.
Fans of Mainz loved Zidan since his loan spell with the red shirt in which he managed to dazzle them with his skills, talent, and goals. The most notable show of talent was in a game against Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
during the 2005–06 season. Zidan earned a man of the match award when he dribbled past Philipp Lahm
Philipp Lahm
Philipp Lahm is a German footballer who plays for Bayern Munich and Germany. Lahm is also the captain for both the national team and Bayern....
and scored against Oliver Kahn
Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team. He had his debut game in the professional squad in 1987...
. Whilst loaned to Mainz, Zidan even scored a goal against the club he was contracted to, Werder Bremen, in 14 seconds. This marked it as the fastest goal scored in the Bundesliga season and is ranked sixth as the quick fastest scored goals in the Bundesliga's history.
In an interview with Bild magazine in Germany, Zidan admitted that he had high aspirations and had ambitions to play in either "Barcelona, Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
or Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
". He stated that he wanted to play for Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
within the next three years to play alongside Brazilian sensation Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...
or Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to play with Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
.
During the 2007 season Zidan contributed many spectacular goals, but could not save Mainz from relegation. The club had only been able to score 34 goals in the entire season, 13 of which, despite having played for less than half of a season, came from the Egyptian forward's feet. Unfortunately Zidan's hard-work and valuable solo contribution was insufficient to prevent Mainz from the depths of despair of being relegated to the second division. However, Zidan's work was noticed by number of top established clubs based in Spain, France and England as well as German Champions VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
.
Hamburger SV
Zidan's run of good form during the 2006–07 season fueled many transfer rumors, and major clubs as Hamburg SV, newly crowned German Champions StuttgartVfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
and several Spanish clubs
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
were named as possible future clubs. Mainz manager Christian Heidel was very keen to keep Zidan at the club, so the club could mount a promotion challenge for the 2007–08 2. Fußball-Bundesliga season. He was also known as the "hamburglar".
On 3. June 2007, Zidan passed a medical and thereby completed his move to Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
. He said that he always wanted a move to the north-German club, because he still has many ties to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The transfer fee was suspected to be about €4,5 million, and Zidan will be earning around €2,5 million per season.
Zidan was handed the number 7 shirt, a number previously worn by Hamburger SV prized player and Iranian captain, Mehdi Mahdavikia
Mehdi Mahdavikia
Mehdi Mahdavikia is an Iranian football player who plays for Damash Gilan in the Iranian Pro League. He has won Asian Young Footballer of the Year award in 1997, as well as Asian Footballer of the Year in 2003. He was the captain of the Iran national football team from 2006 to 2009, and currently...
. Zidan proved himself as a capable striker and could adjust to the new team in friendly games, often scoring when substituted or scoring four goals when he played the full game. Mohamed Zidan scored his first official goal for Hamburger SV in the away DFB-Pokal match versus Holstein Kiel
Holstein Kiel
Holstein Kiel is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. Through the 1910s and 1920s the club was a dominant side in northern Germany winning six regional titles and finishing as runners-up another six times...
. However several appearances in Hamburg's start to the Bundesliga saw Zidan goalless, and often substituted off before the full 90 minutes of the game. Zidan however proved himself as a dangerous striker and playmaker, as he was brought on as a substitute against Bavarian giants Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
on the 74th minute. Zidan scored his first Bundesliga goal for Hamburg in the 87th minute, with the goal bearing a lot of significance as it ended Bayern's early undefeated run in the competition and was the first goal that Oliver Kahn
Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team. He had his debut game in the professional squad in 1987...
had conceded up until then and was also the third goal that Zidan has scored against Bayern during his years in the Bundesliga.
He also scored Hamburg's only goal in the game against Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in the Emirates Cup
Emirates Cup
The Emirates Cup is an annual two-day pre-season football tournament hosted by English Premier League club Arsenal and held at the Emirates Stadium, the club's home ground...
which took place in the summer of 2008, and later only played one competitive game for Hamburg during the 2008–09 season, as a late substitute in the first round of the DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
against FC Ingolstadt 04
FC Ingolstadt 04
FC Ingolstadt 04 is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingolstadt and MTV Ingolstadt.-ESV Ingolstadt:...
.
Borussia Dortmund
Eventually, his time at Hamburg turned out to be for a short period. On August 17, 2008, Zidan's transfer from Hamburg to Borussia DortmundBorussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
was confirmed by both clubs' official websites as part of a deal that also saw Croatian international
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
Mladen Petrić
Mladen Petric
Mladen Petrić is a Croatian international footballer who plays for Hamburger SV in the Fußball-Bundesliga Bundesliga. He also holds the Swiss citizenship.-Early life:...
moving in the opposite direction, with both players signing four-year contracts. Zidan suffered an injury in his knee that will stop him for playing for almost 6 months or more. Dortmund also confirmed they had received an officially undisclosed transfer fee, which is believed to be worth around 5 million euros. His transfer to Dortmund reunited him with former Mainz 05 coach, Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Norbert Klopp is a retired German footballer and current manager of Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga....
, who was in charge of the club during Zidan's two successful spells there in 2005–06 and the second half of the 2006–07 season. He received the number 10 shirt. His first appearance with Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
was on August 23, 2008 against Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
. The game ended 1–1.
On the 3rd May 2011, Borussia Dormund were crowned champions of the Bundesliga for the first time since 2002. During the celebration he brought his son Adam onto the pitch
International career
Weeks before the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, the Egyptian Football AssociationEgyptian Football Association
The Egyptian Football Association is the governing body of football in Egypt.The leading Egyptian clubs are as follows, with the total number of national competitions following the name of the club....
sent a fax on December 23, 2005 to Mainz, asking for an international call-up for Zidan. There was no answer from Mainz or the player for that matter, and as a consequence he drew much criticism from the Egyptian fans and officials alike. He had allegedly chosen not to represent Egypt, as he felt he would lose his starting spot with Mainz, as he felt the Egyptian team had no chance in winning the cup. However in a recent interview, after Egypt had won the African Cup of Nations 2008, he stated that the reason he did not play in 2006 was because of a leg injury.
In a January 2006 interview with the Danish tabloid newspaper B.T.
B.T. (tabloid)
B.T. is a Danish tabloid newspaper which offers general news about various subjects such as sports, politics and current affairs.A large, red neon sign displays the B.T. logo at the square Trianglen in Østerbro, a part of Copenhagen....
, Zidan criticized the Egyptian Football Association for contacting Mainz during Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time when everybody was on holiday, and said that the Egyptian national team should have talked to him personally, as they had with Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
striker Mido. He also said that the Egyptian head coach Shehata had not treated him well, and that the whole thing seemed too unprofessional for him. In April 2006, Hassan Shehata declared he would never again invite Mohamed Zidan to join the national team. He stated, "Zidan refused to join the team when we needed him most, before the Nations Cup. You can never count on these kind of players". During this time there was also talk about Zidan wanting to play for the Denmark national team
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
, if the Egyptian squad did not want him.
However, on August 5, 2006, just 11 days before Egypt's friendly match against Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
, Shehata backed down over his former decision by calling Zidan up for the national team squad. However, Zidan remained doubtful for the friendly match against Uruguay due to an injury that forced him to miss Werder Bremen's season opener. Zidan was called to represent Egypt in the 2008 African Cup of Nations
2008 African Cup of Nations
The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated to the Confederation of African Football . The tournament was staged at...
qualification match against Burundi
Burundi national football team
The Burundi national football team, nicknamed Les Hirondelles , is the national team of Burundi and is controlled by the National Football Association of Burundi...
, where he scored his first international goal only five minutes after kick-off, besides his overall impressive performance during the match.
Indeed, in Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations opening Group C match against Cameroon
Cameroon national football team
The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...
, in a match hotly billed as the Group C decider for top and second spots in the group, Zidan turned in a sensational performance, scoring two superb goals, helping the African Champions' cause for defending their title during an impressive 4–2 victory.
Unofficially, he is widely credited for the lone goal in the final against Cameroon, as his great determination to fight for the ball and winning it dramatically from veteran defender Rigobert Song
Rigobert Song
Rigobert Song Bahanag is a former Cameroonian footballer who is currently a main consultant for the famous sports channel 'Orange sports'. Although receiving many propositions from top clubs, Song declined. Song played for Kosovo super league club KF Drenica, when his contract after season 2010/12...
led to him passing the assist to Mohamed Aboutreika
Mohamed Aboutreika
Mohamed Aboutrika is an Egyptian footballer. Aboutrika plays as a second striker and as an attacking midfielder for the Egyptian team Al-Ahly and the Egyptian national football team....
for the winning goal, which Zidan literally created from nowhere.
Zidan was not out of the woods yet when it comes to controversy as he was reportedly injured in training with the national team before their match with Angola, ART reporter said that he thought that Zidan is being "spoilt", and that he refused to continue the warm up and treatment for him before the game, this was denied by Shawky Gharib the Egyptian Head Coach, Zidan and the Manager Hassan Shehata.
After missing a few games and a few starts after the display in the opening Cameroon game, Zidan was used as a substitute on numerous occasions, always posing a great threat to the opposition. He was used in the Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2008 as a striker, sometimes a lone striker, a winger and an offensive midfielder and gave out battling displays. One of the most notable plays was in the final with Cameroon when he applied pressure on Cameroon legend Rigobert Song and effectively wrestling the ball out of the old defender's legs and managed to supply Aboutreika with the final's winning goal. He is renowned for leading Egypt to victory in the Africa Cup of Nations final, which gave Egypt two consecutive wins of the tournament.
In Egypt's opening 2009 Confederations Cup game, Zidan scored two goals against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
in a 4–3 losing effort.
He was called again to join Egypt's squad for the Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010. He was Egypt's striker along with Emad Moteab
Emad Moteab
Emad Moteab is an Egyptian football striker. He plays for Al-Ahly Egyptian club as well as the Egyptian national team...
. He showed an outstanding performance in most of the matches specially in the opener against Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. He scored his only goal against Algeria
Algeria national football team
The Algeria national football team , nicknamed الأفنــاك, Les Fennecs , represents Algeria in association football and is controlled by the Fédération Algérienne de Football. Algeria's home ground is the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers and their head coach is Vahid Halilhodžić.Algeria has qualified...
in a match that ended 4–0, before he assists another for Mohamed Abdel-Shafy
Mohamed Abdel-Shafy
Mohamed Abdel-Shafy is an Egyptian footballer who plays as a Left-back for Egyptian Premier League side Zamalek. He is also a member of the Egypt national football team and was part of the squad that won the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations....
. Again, he supplies the final's winning goal, but not to Aboutreika this time, it was Mohamed Nagy Gedo who finished it in the net.
On March 3, 2010, he scored Egypt's only goal against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in an international friendly which ended 3-1.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | September 2, 2006 | Cairo International Stadium Cairo International Stadium Cairo International Stadium or "Stad El-Qahira El-Dawly", is an Olympic-standard, multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 75,000. It is the Arab World's second largest . It is the foremost Olympic-standard facility befitting the role of Cairo, Egypt as the center of events in the region... , Nasr City Nasr City Nasr City is a district of Cairo, Egypt. It is located to the east of the Cairo Governorate and consists mostly of condominiums. It was established in the 1960s as an extension to neighboring suburb of Heliopolis. The establishment of the district was part of the Egyptian Government's plan to... , Egypt Egypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... |
2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying | ||||||||
| 2. | March 25, 2007 | Cairo International Stadium Cairo International Stadium Cairo International Stadium or "Stad El-Qahira El-Dawly", is an Olympic-standard, multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 75,000. It is the Arab World's second largest . It is the foremost Olympic-standard facility befitting the role of Cairo, Egypt as the center of events in the region... , Nasr City Nasr City Nasr City is a district of Cairo, Egypt. It is located to the east of the Cairo Governorate and consists mostly of condominiums. It was established in the 1960s as an extension to neighboring suburb of Heliopolis. The establishment of the district was part of the Egyptian Government's plan to... , Egypt Egypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... |
2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying | ||||||||
| 3. | January 22, 2008 | Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi Kumasi Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea... , Ghana Ghana Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south... |
2008 Africa Cup of Nations | ||||||||
| 4. | |||||||||||
| 5. | June 15, 2009 | Free State Stadium Free State Stadium The Free State Stadium , also known as Vodacom Park, is a stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, used mainly for rugby union and association football... , Bloemfontein Bloemfontein Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and... , South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
2009 Confederations Cup | ||||||||
| 6. | |||||||||||
| 7. | January 28, 2010 | Complexo da Sr. da Graça Complexo da Sr. da Graça Ombaka National Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Benguela, Angola. Completed in 2010, it is used mostly for football matches and has hosted some events for the 2010 African Cup of Nations. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 people.-External links:***... , Benguela Benguela Benguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E... , Angola Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city... |
2010 Africa Cup of Nations | ||||||||
| 8. | March 3, 2010 | Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
Friendly | ||||||||
| 9. | November 17, 2010 | Cairo International Stadium Cairo International Stadium Cairo International Stadium or "Stad El-Qahira El-Dawly", is an Olympic-standard, multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 75,000. It is the Arab World's second largest . It is the foremost Olympic-standard facility befitting the role of Cairo, Egypt as the center of events in the region... , Nasr City Nasr City Nasr City is a district of Cairo, Egypt. It is located to the east of the Cairo Governorate and consists mostly of condominiums. It was established in the 1960s as an extension to neighboring suburb of Heliopolis. The establishment of the district was part of the Egyptian Government's plan to... , Egypt Egypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... |
Friendly | ||||||||
| Correct as of November 17, 2010 | |||||||||||
External links
- EgyptianPlayers news items
- SoccerEgypt profile
- Danish career statistics at Danmarks RadioDanmarks RadioDR – officially rendered into English as the Danish Broadcasting Corporation – is Denmark's national broadcasting corporation. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is today Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterprise...