The Egyptian Football Association has appointed Hossam Hassan as the head coach of the national football team, succeeding the Portuguese coach Roy Hodgson.
Hossam Hassan’s appointment comes after six Egyptian coaches led the team during the current century, including Mahmoud El-Gohary, Hassan Shehata, Mohsen Saleh, Shawky Gharieb, Hossam El-Badry, and Ehab Galal.
The perennial question among Egyptian football fans remains: who is better suited to coach our national team, a local or a foreign coach?
Numbers do not lie nor deceive. Egyptian football witnessed its golden era in terms of titles and achievements under the guidance of local coaching staff.
The late Mahmoud El-Gohary led Egypt back to the World Cup after a 56-year absence and masterminded the Pharaohs’ triumph in the African Cup of Nations after a 12-year hiatus in the 1998 edition in Burkina Faso.
Additionally, El-Gohary secured the Arab Cup title in 1992 during his national duty.
Hassan Shehata, known as “The Teacher,” achieved a historic treble, guiding Egypt to three consecutive African Cup of Nations titles in 2006, 2008, and 2010—an achievement yet to be replicated in the tournament’s history.
Under his helm, Egypt was on the verge of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, and the national team reached its highest FIFA ranking (9th globally) in July 2010, along with winning the Arab Championship in 2007.
The first continental title in Egypt’s history came under local management in the inaugural edition of the African Cup of Nations in 1957 in Sudan, led by Mourad Fahmy, assisted by Mohamed Latif.
Overall, Egyptian football has clinched five out of seven African Cup of Nations titles and made its only World Cup appearance three times under local coaching staff, in addition to two unofficial Arab Championship titles.
Regarding foreign coaches who have led the Egyptian national team throughout history, their achievements were limited to the first-ever World Cup qualification in 1934 under Scottish coach James McCrae.
Argentinean Hector Cuper succeeded in leading the Pharaohs to their third World Cup appearance in 2018 in Russia.
The Egyptian national team won the African Cup of Nations twice with foreign coaches: the first in 1959 under Hungarian coach Pal Titkos and the second in 1986 under English coach Mike Smith.
Both tournaments were hosted in Egypt.
It is worth noting that Egypt lost the African Cup of Nations final twice with foreign coaches, with Hector Cuper in 2017 and Carlos Queiroz in 2021, and once with a local coach during the 1962 edition under the joint leadership of Mohamed El-Gendy and Hanafi Bastan.
