Hazem Emam

Hazem Emam (Arabic: حازم إمام‎; born 10 May 1975[1]) is an Egyptian retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Hazem is one of the most talented players in the history of Egyptian football, and one of the most popular players ever in the Middle East. Throughout his career he was usually nicknamed "The Emperor".

Hazem Emam
Personal information
Full name Hazem Mohamed Yehia El Horria Emam
Date of birth (1975-05-10) 10 May 1975[1]
Place of birth Cairo, Egypt
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
El Saidd Club
Zamalek
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1996 Zamalek 41 (5)
1996–2000 Udinese Calcio 11 (0)
1998–2000 → De Graafschap (loan) 38 (4)
2001–2008 Zamalek 122 (27)
National team
1995–2005 Egypt 87 (15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Hazem was born in Mohandessin, Egypt. He is the son of the Zamalek legend, Hamada Emam; and the grandson of another Zamalek legend, Yehia Emam. Hazem as a kid, never planned to become a footballer and follow the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He always focused on one thing at a time, and in his early teens, he only focused on enjoying his life, hanging out with friends, and just finishing school. Hazem was known to be very shy as a child, and that was mainly why at first he refused to practice football despite his father's insistence.

Club career

Hazem loved to play football for fun. He never wanted to take things seriously, and that's why he went to practice at El Saidd club, A club that does not have a first team. He wanted to be with his friends all the time, until one day, in the Egyptian Youth League, Zamalek's youth coach at the time, Badr Haddad, insisted that he has to come and play for Zamalek. Haddad spoke to Hazem's father, Hamada, who was Zamalek's president at the time, and convinced him that his son is a real gem. Hazem went to then play for Zamalek's youth. Until in 1993, when Mahmoud El Gohary took charge of the team, he promoted young Hazem to the first team, and made his debut in November that same year. However, he did not make many appearances that seasons and was mainly used as a late sub. However, next season, he was given an opportunity to shine and was the focus of attention as a potential future star for Egypt. His amazing performances in that season, and the one that followed, convinced Egypt's National Team coach at the time, Ruud Krol to pick him for the national team.

1996 African Cup of Nations arrived, and Emam's form was on fire. He was Egypt's best player in the tournament, and one of the best youngsters to shine. His performance interested Parma, and Udinese. Hazem eventually signed for Udinese. Emam did not enjoy a successful era in the Serie A, despite being the first Egyptian footballer to play in Italy. He never really got his chance, as Alberto Zaccheroni preferred to play him as a striker, despite Hazem's natural position being a playmaker. Hazem could not break into the first team due to the rocking striking partnership between Oliver Bierhoff and Marcio Amoroso, and was eventually loaned to De Graafschap in the Netherlands. There, Emam enjoyed two successful seasons making 38 appearances, and scoring four goals, leading to interest from Ajax.

Despite Ajax's efforts to sign the creative playmaker, he returned to Zamalek in January 2001. His first game was against Zamalek's archrivals, Al Ahly, in which Zamalek won 3-1, with Emam assisting the first goal. He was quickly assigned the team's captain and led them to winning the league that same season scoring 2 goals and making numerous assists. Emam was an instant fan favorite and captained Zamalek to winning 3 league titles, 1 cup title, 2 super cup titles, 1 African cup title, and 1 African super cup title. He enjoyed four successful seasons winning trophies, and individual accolades with Zamalek, before his form started to drop at the start of the 2005–06 season. Hazem was always criticized for his lack of fitness during his career, and after he hit the 30 it was obvious that he was not the same player anymore. Hazem's role at the club declined in his last three seasons, which led to him to retiring at the age of only 33. At the opening match of the 2007–08 season, Emam fell out with Zamalek's supporters after they kept chanting vulgarities towards him and asking him to retire. Emam announced his retirement, only to shortly come back after the fans offered a public apology. However, he finished his career at the end of that season on a high note, after Zamalek beat Enppi in the cup final, marking Zamalek's first trophy in four seasons. Hazem had announced his retirement earlier in spring, therefore the player's wore a T-shirt that had his number on it and words "Don't retire Hazem" in the warm up before the game.

International goals
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 June 1997Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea Ghana1–02–01997 Korea Cup
2.13 July 1997Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Senegal1–02–01998 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3.27 July 1997Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt Ethiopia3–08–11998 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4.17 August 1997Osman Ahmed Osman Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Liberia5–05–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.3 December 1997Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Ghana2–03–2Friendly
8.23 September 1998Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia1–22–2Friendly
9.16 February 1999Hong Kong Stadium, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Bulgaria3–13–11999 Lunar New Year Cup
10.30 March 1999Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium Belgium1–01–0Friendly
11.29 June 1999National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe1–11–1Friendly
12.10 July 1999Mexico City, Mexico New Zealand1–01–1Friendly
13.25 January 2002Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako, Mali Tunisia1–01–02002 Africa Cup of Nations
14.31 January 2002Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako, Mali Zambia2–02–12002 Africa Cup of Nations
15.8 June 2003Port Said Stadium, Port Said, Egypt Mauritius5–07–02004 African Cup of Nations qualification

Honours and achievements

Club

Zamalek

International

Egypt

  • African Cup of Nations: 1998
  • All-Africa Games: 1995

Individual
  • World Best Soccer Skills Pepsi Challenge Winner 2001
  • Egyptian Footballer of the Year 2003
  • Africa Cup of Nations Dream Team: 1996
  • Top scorer of African Qualifications for African Cup of Nations 1998
  • The best play maker in Africa 1998
  • The best play maker in Africa 2002
  • player of the year in Egypt 2001
  • Final African Super Cup man of the Match 2003
  • CAF Africa Champions League player of The Tournament 2002
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References
  1. https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/2098/Hazem_Emam.html
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