Hamada Emam
.jpg) Emam in 1965 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mohamed Yehia El Horria Emam | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 28 November 1943 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cairo, Egypt | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 9 January 2016 (aged 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Cairo, Egypt | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Zamalek | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1959–1974 | Zamalek | 267 | (84) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1974 | Egypt | 5 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Mohamed Yehia El Horria Emam (Arabic: محمد يحيى الحرية إمام; 28 November 1943 – 9 January 2016), known as Hamada Emam (Arabic: حمادة إمام), was the Vice President of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) and a former Egyptian football player. Hamada Emam scored 74 goals for Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League. He was nicknamed "The Fox" by Egyptian fans.[1]
Early life[edit]
He was born on November 28, 1943 in the Al-Munira neighborhood of Sayyida Zeinab, adjacent to Al-Qasr Al-Aini Street in Cairo. His father Yehia Emam was Zamalek and Egypt's legendary Goalkeeper in the 1930s and 1940s. Yehia Emam was a former military officer and vice governor of Gaza in 1954. Hamada Emam graduated from the Egyptian Military Academy, and worked as an officer in the Egyptian Armed Forces and be retired with the rank of Brigadier General. He was married Dr. Maggie Al-Halwani, with whom he has two sons Hazem Emam and Ashraf Imam.
Career[edit]
Hamada Emam joined the Zamalek youth team in 1957. This happened when youth team coach Ali Sharaf saw him and decided to include him in the club. One of Emam's nicknames was "Mohamed V" and this goes back to a story with Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer in 1960, when he was 18 years old. Hamada Imam was then playing with the Zamalek's U-18, and also sometimes plays for the U-20 team. Zamalek U-20 reached the final of the Egypt Cup to meet Al Ahly, and the match ended in a draw, and the Egyptian Football Association decided to hold a rematch between the two sides.[2]
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Zamalek wanted to use the services of Hamada Emam in the match, but they discovered that he was with his father in the Gaza Strip, as his father, Yehia Emam, who was also formerly the Zamalek's goalkeeper, was deputy governor of the Gaza Strip and wanted his son to devote himself to studying. Zamalek addressed Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer, who was a Zamalek fan himself. Immediately, Amer decided to send a warplane to Gaza that brought Hamada Emam to Cairo. Hamada Emam participated in the match and scored 5 goals, and Zamalek defeated their traditional arch rival with a score of 6–0 and was champion of the Egypt Cup for U-20.[3][4]
He joined the first team in 1959 and continued until 1974. In the Cairo derby, Emam scored 6 goals (4 in official matches and 2 in friendly games) for Zamalek, and the team didn't lose from Al Ahly for a whole decade, from 1962 to 1972, in all competitions. Among his most famous goals in the derby when he used his intelligence in his goal against Al Ahly, he penetrated from the left side and shot into the near corner to deceive everyone. He was nicknamed the "Fox". He earned this title due to his great intelligence on the field when he was a player.[5]
Emam was unlucky, as Egyptian football activity stopped due to the outbreak of the 1967 war, Emam was only 24. The Egyptian League was resumed in 1971, Emam was 28, however, due to a controversial penalty in the 1971–72 season's last match between Zamalek and Al Ahly, after Al Ahly complained about the referee, the season result was canceled Zamalek were already champions.
In November 1966, Zamalek met West Ham United in a friendly in Cairo, Zamalek won 5–1 and Emam scored a famous hat trick. He won three Egyptian league titles (1959–69, 1963–64, 1964–65). He also won with Zamalek two Egypt cup titles (1959–60, 1961–62). Emam retired after lifting the October League Cup trophy in 1974.[6][7][8] He played for Egypt, but was not regularly due to his job as a military officer in the Egyptian Armed Forces. He played for Egypt in 1970 African Cup of Nations and finished third.[9][10]
Post retirement career[edit]
Hamada Emam headed to sports management career, where he worked as sports director in Zamalek, and rose in administrative work until he reached the position of Vice President of the club, also he worked as board member, and vice president of the Egyptian Football Association.[11]
After his retirement, he worked as a sports commentator in Egyptian television for decades, and presented the “Goals of the Week with the Fox” program on the Nile Sports Channel for more than 10 years.[12] Hamada Emam died on 9 January 2016.
Career statistics[edit]
| Club's league Season | Seasons | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Zamalek | 1961–62 | 6 |
| 1962–63 | 19 | |
| 1963–64 | 11 | |
| 1964–65 | 18 | |
| 1965–66 | 11 | |
| 1966–67 | 6 | |
| 1971–72 | 3 | |
| 1972–73 | 0 | |
| 1973–74 | 0 | |
| Total | 74 | |
Honours[edit]
Zamalek
Egypt
- Africa Cup of Nations: third place 1970
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Rizk, Mazin (2016-01-10). "Hamada Emam Tribute: Egypt's Legendary Fox". KingFut. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
- ^ "Hamada Emam passes away - Dailynewsegypt". 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
- ^ "Zamalek and Egypt's football legend Hamada Emam dies". 9 January 2016.
- ^ فتحي الشافعي (6 April 2024). "شخصيات رياضية لها تاريخ.. حمادة إمام "ثعلب" الكرة المصرية وصاحب 5 بطولات مع الزمالك".
- ^ Rizk, Mazin (2016-01-10). "Hamada Emam Tribute: Egypt's Legendary Fox". KingFut. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
- ^ "Great Egyptian Footballers". Tarek Said. Retrieved 9 January 2016.[better source needed]
- ^ "Zamalek and Egypt's football legend Hamada Emam dies". Al-Ahram. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ "Soccer veteran Hamada Emam dies at 68". Sada Elbalad. 9 January 2016. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ Yasser, Yomna (2016-01-10). "Egypt and Zamalek's football legend Hamada Emam died". Amwal Al Ghad. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
- ^ "A farewell to Hamada Emam, the legendary "White Fox" - Dailynewsegypt". 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
- ^ Rizk, Mazin (2016-01-10). "Hamada Emam Tribute: Egypt's Legendary Fox". KingFut. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
- ^ "Hamada Emam passes away - Dailynewsegypt". 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
