A product of the Ismaily youth system, Hosni Abd Rabbou was one of the youngest players in the club’s league-title winning squad of 2001/02. And it was around this time that he caught the eye of Hassan Shehata, then at the helm of Egypt’s U-20 side. Shehata subsequently selected the player for the FIFA U-20 World Cup at UAE 2003, with Egypt managing to reach the Round of 16 before being edged out by Argentina 2-1 after extra time.A move to French outfit Strasbourg followed, but Abd Rabbou left the club after they were relegated to the second division to return on a one-year loan deal to former club Ismaily. He was subsequently sent on loan by Ismaily to Al Ahly of Dubai in the UAE.

A hard-working defensive midfielder, who is also noted for his accurate distribution and powerful shooting, Abd Rabo missed out on Egypt’s victory at the 2006 CAF African Cup of Nations on home soil through a last-minute injury. However, he more than made up for it at the 2008 edition in Ghana when he was voted the tournament’s best player.

A cool and composed competitor, which makes him an automatic choice in penalty shootouts, Abd Rabbou was rumored to be the subject of interest from a number of Italian, Spanish and English clubs after his displays in Ghana 2008 & Angola 2010.

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