Egypt has a rich footballing history, with a long list of talented players who have made their mark both domestically and internationally. Mohamed Zidan is one of those players who gained recognition for his impressive performances as a striker.
Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Zidan (Arabic: محمد عبد الله محمد زيدان; born 11 December 1981) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Zidan was born in Port Said to an Egyptian family. His career started as a striker for his hometown club El Masry in 1998. Al-Masry dropped Zidan because of a perceived lack of passing ability, leading to his family moving to Denmark.
In his first year in Denmark, while training with B93 for a contract, he played a few games for the Danish-Turkish club FC Anatolien, now Kokkedal BK, in Nivå in Northern Zealand. Zidan was scouted by the Danish Superliga club Akademisk Boldklub (AB) while he was juggling a ball at a Danish park in 1999.
In June 2003, he moved to the league rivals FC Midtjylland (FCM), as AB experienced financial hardship. At FCM, he became the league's top scorer in the 2003-04 season, and won the Rookie of the year award, becoming Player of the Year the following season. Zidan's performance in the Danish League had resulted in interest among several top European clubs in signing the striker.
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In the winter break of the 2004-05 season, he was loaned by German club Werder Bremen for the remainder of the 2004-05, with an option to buy in the summer. In the summer of 2005 he was bought by Werder for a fee believed to be around €3.5 million.
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On 31 August 2005, Zidan was loaned out to Mainz for the 2005-06 season. He went on to score nine goals in 26 appearances, seven as a substitute for Mainz.
In the 2006-07 pre-season friendly matches, he retained his form with Werder Bremen, starting six of the seven matches he had played and scored four goals. However, after a trail of injuries, Zidan was on the receiving end of less playing time.
After months of speculations, following the limited playing time and injuries, Werder Bremen announced on 16 January 2007 that Zidan would be transferred to Mainz for a reported 2.8 million Euros fee, which made it the largest ever purchase in the club's history, passing his medical on 17 January 2007.
He scored six goals in the first 5 matches with his new club, catapulting the team from last, to 10th place on 1 March 2007 with 27 points. Fans of Mainz loved Zidan since his loan spell with the red shirt in which he managed to dazzle them with his skills, talent, and goals. The most notable show of talent was in a game against Bayern Munich during the 2005-06 season.
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Zidan earned a man of the match award when he dribbled past Philipp Lahm and scored against Oliver Kahn. Whilst loaned to Mainz, Zidan scored a goal against the club he was contracted to, Werder Bremen, in 14 seconds.
In an interview with Bild in Germany, Zidan admitted that he had high aspirations and had ambitions to play in either "Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool or Manchester United".
During the 2007 season Zidan contributed many spectacular goals, but could not save Mainz from relegation. The club had only been able to score 34 goals in the entire season, 13 of which, despite having played for less than half of a season, came from the Egyptian forward's feet.
Unfortunately Zidan's hard-work and valuable solo contribution was insufficient to prevent Mainz from the depths of despair of being relegated to the second division. Zidan's run of good form during the 2006-07 season fueled many transfer rumors, and major clubs as Hamburger SV, newly crowned German champions VfB Stuttgart and several Spanish clubs were named as possible future clubs.
Mainz manager Christian Heidel was very keen to keep Zidan at the club, so the club could mount a promotion challenge for the 2007-08 2. On 3 June 2007, Zidan passed a medical and thereby completed his move to HSV. He said that he always wanted a move to the north-German club, because he still has many ties to Denmark.
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Zidan was handed the number 7 shirt, a number previously worn by Hamburger SV prized player and Iranian captain, Mehdi Mahdavikia. Zidan proved himself as a capable striker and could adjust to the new team in friendly games, often scoring when substituted or scoring four goals when he played the full game.
Mohamed Zidan scored his first official goal for Hamburger SV in the away DFB-Pokal match versus Holstein Kiel. However several appearances in Hamburg's start to the Bundesliga saw Zidan goalless, and often substituted off before the full 90 minutes of the game. Zidan however proved himself as a dangerous striker and playmaker, as he was brought on as a substitute against Bavarian giants Bayern Munich in the 74th minute.
Eventually, his time at Hamburg turned out to be for a short period. He received the number 10 shirt. His first appearance with Borussia Dortmund was on 23 August 2008 against Bayern Munich in a game which ended 1-1.
On 17 April 2010, Zidan suffered an injury in his knee that prevented him from playing for almost 6 months. On 31 January 2012, Zidan left Borussia Dortmund and signed a new contract with his former club Mainz. He scored once in each of his first six games for Mainz, becoming the first player in the history of the Bundesliga to score in each of his first six games with his new club.
This surpassed VfB Stuttgart striker Fredi Bobic who had scored in the first five games for his new club in the 1994-1995 season opener. On 10 April 2012, he scored once and assisted two goals against Köln in a 4-0 win.
On 31 July 2012, Zidan signed for Emirati club Baniyas, signing a two-year contract. In January 2013 he was omitted from the Baniyas roster for the rest of the season and decided to have his contract terminated. He was not registered in the club's squad list for the next season, so he did not play a single match in the 2013-14 Season. He left the club after his contract expired.
Zidan's most notable achievements include winning the Bundesliga title from 2010 to 2012 with Borussia Dortmund. He continued playing football until 2015, representing El Entag El Harby before announcing his retirement.
Weeks before the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, the Egyptian Football Association sent a fax on 23 December 2005 to Mainz, asking for an international call-up for Zidan. There was no answer from Mainz or the player for that matter, and as a consequence he drew much criticism from the Egyptian fans and officials.
In a January 2006 interview with the Danish tabloid newspaper BT, Zidan criticized the Egyptian Football Association for contacting Mainz during Christmas time when everybody was on holiday, and said that the Egyptian national team should have talked to him personally, as they had with Tottenham Hotspur striker Mido.
He also said that the Egyptian head coach Shehata had not treated him well, and that the whole thing seemed too unprofessional for him. In April 2006, Hassan Shehata declared he would never again invite Mohamed Zidan to join the national team.
He stated, "Zidan refused to join the team when we needed him most, before the Nations Cup. After missing a few games and a few starts after the display in the opening Cameroon game, Zidan was used as a substitute on numerous occasions, always posing a great threat to the opposition.
He was used in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana as a striker, sometimes a lone striker, a winger and as an offensive midfielder. He was called up to rejoin Egypt national team for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
He was Egypt's striker along with Emad Moteab. He played in the opening Group C match against Nigeria. He scored his a goal against Algeria in the semifinal, in a match that ended 4-0 to Egypt, and where he also assisted Mohamed Abdel-Shafy for the 3-0 goal.
On 3 March 2010, Zidan scored the only goal for Egypt in a 3-1 loss to England. He was married to his long-time girlfriend Stina, who holds Danish citizenship, in 2014 in Germany. In 2015, Zidan moved back to Cairo. In 2017, he married his current wife, Menas.
Zidan’s impact on Egyptian football and his success in Europe make him a true legend of the game.
Achievements
Here's a table summarizing Mohamed Zidan's achievements:
| Achievement | Details |
|---|---|
| Bundesliga Title | Won from 2010 to 2012 with Borussia Dortmund |
| Danish League Top Scorer | Achieved at FC Midtjylland in the 2003-04 season |
| Rookie of the Year | Awarded in Denmark |
| Player of the Year | Awarded in Denmark following the Rookie of the Year award |
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