Full Name: Mohamed Zidan

Profile:

Having been released by hometown club Al Masry because of his small stature, the young Mohamed Zidan was forced to move to third-division side Borfouad in a bid for regular football. But it was while he was accompanying his father on a business trip to Denmark that his luck would change forever, with a football scout spotting him playing in a public park and offering him a trial at Copenhagen club B93. There he spent a few days before joining fellow capital outfit AB Copenhagen, where the silky-skilled Egyptian continued to hone his talents before earning a switch to FC Midtjylland – where he became one of Danish football’s biggest stars.
The Danish league’s top scorer with his new club in 2004, he cemented his status as a fans’ favourite with an astonishing nine goals in the team’s first three games at their newly built SAS Arena – which fans dubbed the ‘Zidan Arena’. His reputation soon grew beyond Danish shores, with the player securing a transfer to Bundesliga heavyweights Werder Bremen. Yet despite an impressive pre-season in Bremen colours, he went on to score just three goals in 15 appearances. This led to a loan spell at fellow German side Mainz, where he came under the command of his future mentor: coach Jurgen Klopp.
After regaining his scoring touch and boosting his reputation during that 2005/06 loan move, Zidan returned to Mainz on a permanent deal in the January transfer window of the following season, but was unable to save the club from relegation. Despite reported interest from Spain and Italy, Zidan chose to stay in the Bundesliga with Hamburg, though his time with HSV would last just one season.
Fortunately for the gifted Pharaoh, whose individualistic style had proved a difficult puzzle to solve for many club coaches, his favourite boss Klopp, now at Borussia Dortmund, came in for him in the summer of 2008.
On the international front, meanwhile, he initially rebuffed calls from the Egyptian national team in the hope of representing his adopted country Denmark. However, he was unable to secure a Danish passport and subsequently accepted the opportunity to play for the country of his birth. Having turned down Egypt’s advances in the build-up to their 2006 CAF African Cup of Nations triumph on home soil, he had worked his way into the picture in time for the continental showpiece in Ghana two years’ later, where he played a notable role in the Pharaohs’ success.
Indeed, it was Zidan who scored a spectacular goal on the half-volley from some 35 metres out in the 4-2 opening-game win over Cameroon in Ghana, while he also provided the assist for Mohamed Aboutrika’s winner against the same opponents in the final.

Beats Videos of Mohamed Zidan:

Goal vs England (2010):

Mohamed Zidan 2 Goals vs Brazil:

The Early days of  Mohamed Zidan

Mohamed Zidan Photo gallery: