Abdulrahman Fawzi

Abdulrahman Fawzi
Personal information
Date of birth	August 11, 1909
Place of birth	Port Said, Egypt
Date of death	October 16, 1988 (aged 79)
Place of death	Cairo, Egypt
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Senior career*
National team
Teams managed
1946–1956	Farouk / Zamalek
1953–1954	Egypt (National Committee)
1956	Ghazl El Mahalla
1957–1962	Saudi Arabia
1960–1961	Al-Sekka Al-Hadid
1975	Al-Sekka Al-Hadid
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Abdulrahman Fawzi (Arabic: عبد الرحمن فوزي‎) (August 11, 1909 – October 16, 1988) was an Egyptian professional football player and manager, who played as a winger. He played for Al-Masry SC and Zamalek SC (where he spent most of his career) as well as the Egypt national football team. He took part at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, where he scored twice for Egypt in their 4–2 loss against Hungary,[1] which was the first time (and the only time before 1970) that an African team had competed at the FIFA World Cup. He was thus, the first African footballer to score at the World Cup. He would have been the first African to score a hat trick at the World Cup (a feat not yet achieved by any African footballer to date) but his third goal was disallowed. The Egyptian goalkeeper that day, Mustafa Mansour, later said:[2]

"When the game was 2–2, my colleague Fawzi took the ball from the centre and dribbled past all the Hungarian players to score a third goal. But, the referee cancelled the goal as an offside!"

Early life

Fawzi was born in the Egyptian city of Port Said on 11 August 1909.

Club career

Al-Masry

Fawzi began his career in 1928 with his hometown club, Al-Masry SC. He played with the club till 1934, a total of 6 seasons. He won with them the Sultan Hussein Cup 2 times (1933, 1934) and the Canal Zone League 3 times (1932, 1933, 1934).

Zamalek

In 1935, Fawzi moved to Cairo-based club Zamalek SC (then known as El Mokhtalat and then Farouk) where he spent most of his career, as he played there until his retirement in 1947, playing with them a total of 12 seasons. He won with them the Egypt Cup 5 times (1935, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944) and the Cairo League 5 times (1939–40, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1946–47).

International career

Fawzi played for the Egypt national team. He was among the team that competed in the 1934 World Cup qualifiers, in which Egypt won 11-2 on aggregate of the two matches against the Mandatory Palestine national team, with seven goals in the match that was held in Cairo, which ended with a score of 7-1 and four goals in the match that was held in Jerusalem, which ended with a score of 4-1, with Fawzi scoring the fourth goal for Egypt.

At the 1934 FIFA World Cup, Fawzi participated in the match against Hungary and scored two goals as the match ended 4-2 in favor of Hungary. Mustafa Mansour, Egypt's goalkeeper at that match, stated that Fawzi scored the third goal for Egypt, when the result was a 2-2 tie between the two teams, but the referee canceled it for an offside offence despite him playing the ball from the centre of the field. Fawzi is the first ever African footballer to score at the FIFA World Cup. He is also Egypt's top goalscorer at the World Cup with 2 goals.

Managerial career

In 1946, right after retiring from playing, Fawzi became the manager of his former club Zamalek SC (known as Farouk until 1952). In 1953, while managing Zamalek, Fawzi became the manager of the Egypt national football team. Fawzi led the Egypt national team to win the 1953 Pan Arab Games football tournament with a 4-0 victory over Syria in the final. Unlike his performance as a player, they failed to qualify to the 1954 FIFA World Cup after losing their two matches against Italy in the qualification rounds, after that Fawzi was no longer the manager of the Egypt national football team, after one year in that position. In 1956, Fawzi became the first ever manager in the history of Egyptian football to manage two clubs at the same time as he managed Ghazl El Mahalla, playing in the Egyptian Second Divison at that time, alongside him managing Zamalek. He led Ghazl El Mahalla, in that season, to their first ever promotion to the Egyptian Premier League. He then resigned from his position at Ghazl El Mahalla, after only one season with them, as well as his position at Zamalek after 10 years of managing the team, making him the longest-serving manager in the history of Zamalek. With Zamalek, Fawzi won the Egypt Cup 2 times (1952, 1955) and the Cairo League 5 times (1946–47, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53), a total of seven titles, making him the most successful manager in the history of Zamalek. In 1957, Fawzi became the first manager of the Saudi Arabia national football team, after the establishment of the team in 1956, and he stayed with them for 5 years until 1962. In 1960, while managing the Saudi Arabia national football team, Fawzi became the manager of Egyptian club El Sekka El Hadid, he stayed with them for only one season, leaving in 1961. After leaving the Saudi Arabia national football team in 1962, Fawzi took a 13 years hiatus, before coming back to manage El Sekka El Hadid for one more season in 1975. After that, Fawzi retired from football altogether.

Personal life

Fawzi is the father of Ahmed Sherine Fawzi, the former governor of Monufia, and former board member of Zamalek SC during the second period of club president Galal Ibrahim, from 2010 to 2011.

Death

Fawzi died on 16 October 1988 in Cairo, Egypt at the age of 79. One week after his death, Zamalek SC's administration named the club's indoor arena by his name in his honour.

Career statistics

International statistics

As of match played 27 May 1934.

Appearances and goals by national team, year and competition
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Egypt	1934	3[lower-alpha 1]	3
Total		3	3

Notes

Two appearances and one goal in the 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification, one appearance and two goals in the 1934 FIFA World Cup

International goals

As of match played 27 May 1934. Egypt score listed first, score column indicates score after each Fawzi goal.

No.	Cap	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	2	6 April 1934	Palms Stadium, Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine	Mandatory Palestine	4–0	4–1	1934 FIFA World Cup qualification	[3]
2	3	27 May 1934	Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli, Naples, Italy	Hungary	2–1	4–2	1934 FIFA World Cup	[4]
3	3	27 May 1934	Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli, Naples, Italy	Hungary	2–2	4–2	1934 FIFA World Cup	[4]

Honours

Player

Al-Masry

Sultan Hussein Cup (2): 1933, 1934
Canal Zone League (3): 1932, 1933, 1934

Zamalek

Egypt Cup (5): 1935, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944
Cairo League (5): 1939–40, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1946–47

Manager