Hazem Emam

Hazem Emam (Arabic: حازم إمام‎; born May 10, 1975) is a retired Egyptian footballer. He spent most of his career as an attacking midfielder for Zamalek SC. Hazem is one of the most talented players in the history of Egyptian football, and one of the most popular players ever in the Middle East. Throughout his career he was usually nicknamed "The Emperor".

Early life

Hazem was born in Mohandessin, Egypt. He is the son of the Zamalek legend, Hamada Emam; and the grandson of another Zamalek legend, Yehia Emam. Hazem as a kid, never planned to become a footballer and follow the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He always focused on one thing at a time, and in his early teens, he only focused on enjoying his life, hanging out with friends, and just finishing school. Hazem was known to be very shy as a child, and that was mainly why at first he refused to practice football despite his father's insistence.

Early career

Hazem loved to play football for fun. He never wanted to take things seriously, and that's why he went to practice at El-Saidd club (Egyptian Shooting club), A club that does not have a first team. He wanted to be with his friends all the time, until one day, in the Egyptian Youth League, Zamalek's youth coach at the time, Badr Haddad, insisted that he has to come and play for Zamalek. Haddad spoke to Hazem's father, Hamada, who was Zamalek's president at the time, and convinced him that his son is a real gem. Hazem went to then play for Zamalek's youth. Until in 1993, when Mahmoud El Goharry took charge of the team, he promoted young Hazem to the first team, and made his debut in November that same year. However, he did not make many appearances that seasons and was mainly used as a late sub. However, next season, he was given an opportunity to shine and was the focus of attention as a potential future star for Egypt. His amazing performances in that season, and the one that followed, convinced Egypt's National Team coach at the time, Ruud Krol to pick him for the national team.

Rise to stardom

African Cup of Nations (1996) arrived, and Emam's form was on fire. He was Egypt's best player in the tournament, and one of the best youngsters to shine. His performance interested Parma, and Udinese. Hazem eventually signed for Udinese. Emam did not enjoy a successful era in the Serie A, despite being the first Egyptian footballer to play in Italy. He never really got his chance, as Alberto Zaccheroni preferred to play him as a striker, despite Hazem's natural position being a playmaker. Hazem could not break into the first team due to the rocking striking partnership between Oliver Bierhoff and Marcio Amoroso, and was eventually loaned to De Graafschap in the Netherlands. There, Emam enjoyed two successful seasons making 38 appearances, and scoring four goals, leading to interest from Ajax.

Return to Egypt

Despite Ajax's efforts to sign the creative playmaker, he returned to Zamalek in January 2001. His first game was against Zamalek's archrivals, Al Ahly, in which Zamalek won 3-1, with Emam assisting the first goal. He was quickly assigned the team's captain and led them to winning the league that same season scoring 2 goals and making numerous assists. Emam was an instant fan favorite and captained Zamalek to winning 3 league titles, 1 cup title, 2 super cup titles, 1 African cup title, and 1 African super cup title. He enjoyed four successful seasons winning trophies, and individual accolades with Zamalek, before his form started to drop at the start of the 2005/2006 season. Hazem was always criticized for his lack of fitness during his career, and after he hit the 30 it was obvious that he was not the same player anymore.Hazem's role at the club declined in his last three seasons, which led to him to retiring at the age of only 33. At the opening match of the 2007/2008 season, Emam fell out with Zamalek's supporters after they kept chanting vulgarities towards him and asking him to retire. Emam announced his retirement, only to shortly come back after the fans offered a public apology. However, he finished his career at the end of that season on a high note, after Zamalek beat Enppi in the cup final, marking Zamalek's first trophy in four seasons. Hazem had announced his retirement earlier in spring, therefore the player's wore a T-shirt that had his number on it and words "Don't retire Hazem" in the warm up before the game.

2011- he signed a contract with ALJAZERA sports TV channel(currently BeIN Sports) ..playing a role as a SERIE A calcio analyst

National team

Hazem made his debut for the national team in 1995, and has 87 caps for Egypt. He has participated in the CAN 5 times, in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004. His biggest achievement was winning it in 1998, but his best performances came in 1996 when he was picked in the team of the tournament.

International goals

Scores and results list Egypt's goal tally first.^[1]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 June 1997	Seoul, South Korea	Ghana	1–0	2–0	1997 Korea Cup
2.	13 July 1997	Cairo International Stadium, Egypt	Senegal	1–0	2–0	1998 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
3.	27 July 1997	Alexandria Stadium, Egypt	Ethiopia	3–0	8–1	1998 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
4.				4–0
5.				5-0
6.	17 August 1997	Cairo International Stadium, Egypt	Liberia	5–0	5–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
7.	3 December 1997	Cairo International Stadium, Egypt	Ghana	2-0	3-2	Friendly
8.	23 September 1998	Kadriorg Stadium, Estonia	Estonia	1-2	2-2	Friendly
9.	16 February 1999	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong	Bulgaria	3-1	3-1	1999 Lunar New Year Cup
10.	30 March 1999	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Belgium	Belgium	1-0	1-0	Friendly
11.	29 June 1999	National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe	1–1	1–1	Friendly
12.	10 July 1999	Mexico City, Mexico	New Zealand	1–0	1-1	Friendly
13.	25 January 2002	Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako	Tunisia	1–0	1–0	2002 Africa Cup of Nations
14.	31 January 2002	Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako	Zambia	2–0	2–1	2002 Africa Cup of Nations
15.	8 June 2003	Port Said Stadium, Port Said	Mauritius	5–0	7-0	2004 African Cup of Nations qualifier

Honours and achievements

References

• Hazem Emam at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

• Hazem Emam Official Website
• HazemLovers official website
• Hazem Emam at National-Football-Teams.com
• Hazem goal with udinese
• Hazem compilation video
• Hazem Emam section on biggest Zamalek fanclub
• Unofficial Hazem website
• Another Hazem photo album
• Hazem Emam Official Page on Facebook

Other references

• World Best Soccer Skills Pepsi Challenge Winner 2001
• Hazem Emam, Zico of the Pyramids