Wael Gomaa

Wael Gomaa (Arabic: وائل جمعة‎; born 3 August 1975) is an Egyptian retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is regarded as the best Egyptian centre-back ever and one of the best players in African football history.[1]

Wael Gomaa
Personal information
Full name Wael Gomaa Kamel El hawty
Date of birth (1975-08-03) 3 August 1975
Place of birth El Sheen, Gharbia, Egypt
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
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 241 (11)
2007–2008 → Al-Sailiya (loan) 29 (10)
Total 323 (17)
National team
2001–2013 Egypt 114 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Due to his magnificent performance in 2000–01 season he signed with Al Ahly after 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 as an excellent header, good reading for passes,[2] who has the ability to score from corners and free kicks. He scored with a header for Al Ahly in the final match of CAF Champions League 2008 against Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon.

In 2006-2007, he had pre-season trials with Blackburn Rovers with a view to a January transfer.[3][4]

In week 23 from 2010–11 season in the match against Haras El Hodoud he made his 200th appearance for Al Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League, he caused a penalty for Haras El Hodood and Ahmed Abdel-Ghani missed it.[5] On 26 May 2014 Wael announced his retirement from football.

International career

Gomaa was pivotal in the Pharaoh's African Cup of Nations Egypt 2006, Ghana 2008, Angola 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 has been 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. Wael Gomaa has made his 100th International appearance for Egypt; when Egypt played against Uganda on January 8, 2011 in the 2011 Nile Basin Tournament. During the tournament he scored his only international goal with the ball bouncing off his leg for a corner kick against Kenya in the semi final Egypt went on to win the match 5–1. Gomaa made his international debut on 26 April 2001 in a friendly match against South Korea.

Retirement announcement

In Feb 2014, Gomaa announced that he will retire from football at the end of the season.

On May 2014, Gomaa 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.

In August 2014, joined Alahly Club as football manager up to August 2015.

Post-retirement advertising

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.[6][7][8]

Honours and achievements

Club
Al Ahly


African cup of nations 2006,2008&2010.

Individual Awards

References
  1. Dove, Ed. "The 50 Greatest African Players of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  2. تـــــاريخ الصخرة وائل جمـعة - منتديات بيتك. www.betk.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2018-07-10.
  3. "Gomaa to join Blackburn". Eurosport. 2006-11-09. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  4. Walker "Wael Gomaa To Join Ooijer At Rovers". Vital Football, 2006-8-23. Retrieved on 15 May 2010.
  5. "Banatmodern.com". forums.banatmodern.com. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  6. "The loss of Wael Gomaa and the win of all Gomaa[s] | Think Marketing". Think Marketing. 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  7. "بالفيديو والصور| وائل جمعة يكشف عن موهبة تمثيلية". 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  8. اعلان وائل جمعة الجديد لكوكاكولا يشعل الفيس بوك بالفيديو. حب مصر (in Arabic). 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
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