The head coach of the Egypt national team, Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, mocked the conflict between the participation of "the Pharaohs" in the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and Al Ahly's involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi. FIFA announced the dates for the Club World Cup from February 3 to 12 in the UAE, while Egypt is competing in the Africa Cup of Nations from January 9 to February 6.
Al Ahly, representing Africa, will play their first match in the second round against Monterrey, the Mexican CONCACAF champion, on February 5, just a day before the Africa Cup of Nations final, which the Pharaohs have won seven times (a record). If they advance past the quarterfinals, they will face Palmeiras, the Brazilian Copa Libertadores champion.
Queiroz said at a press conference in Doha on Friday, the eve of the quarterfinal match against Jordan in the Arab Cup, where he is competing with a squad free of professionals abroad, especially Mohamed Salah, the star of Liverpool: "I read the news and I think another storm or hurricane will come in a few months."
The experienced 68-year-old continued: "Football brings us big problems every week, so let's enjoy this week's problems and wait for next weeks' problems to solve. What seems big today may shrink tomorrow or the day after, and we will always find good solutions with an open mind and based on logic. Ultimately, what is important for FIFA, CAF (African Football Confederation), and clubs is to understand a simple matter: the players are the same (the national team and Al Ahly)."
The former coach of the national teams of Portugal, Iran, and Colombia added sarcastically: "Since the birth of man, he has dreamed of flying, and now in football, we try to have a new dream of putting one player in two matches at the same time. Maybe we'll have one foot and one hand in two different places. But we will do our best and try."
He concluded, alongside Egyptian national team captain and Al Ahly player Amr El Solia: "Since a person cannot fly, it is difficult to put El Solia on two pitches at the same time. One day we will reach a point where we compete in four tournaments simultaneously!"
Al Ahly had addressed FIFA two weeks ago "to alleviate the harm to the football team due to the scheduling conflicts between the Club World Cup." Al Ahly has often included a considerable number of national team players, "between 7-9 players, besides having some of its players competing for their national teams, such as Ali Maaloul (Tunisia), Elio Diang (Mali), and Badr Bannon (Morocco), which will impact the team due to these players' participation in the Africa Cup of Nations."
In the same context, Al Ahly's executive director, Saad Shehaby, stated in a television interview on Friday: "We have taken the necessary actions and sent a letter to the Egyptian, African, and international federations to consider Al Ahly's legitimate rights and allow the team to compete with all its stars." He added: "We are awaiting official responses from the three entities. We trust that the Egyptian federation will support Al Ahly's position."
