Ahli playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika missed out on the 2008 Glo-CAF Player of the Year award, even so, the Egyptian role model felt as though he scooped the prestigious accolade. Abou-Treika, whose contribution with the Red Devils and Egypt made him a shoo-in for the yearly honor, won the 2008 Inter-CAF award, which is given to players plying their trade within the continent. Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor was controversially named the best African player of the year, whereas the Togolese international's credentials were not drastically high. A myriad of questions have been raised following the announcement of the winner, and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has been accused of nepotism by many pundits. On what basis Africa's best get elected? What are the criteria? Are big-clubs' players favored to win the Glo-CAF award? These questions were frequently asked in Egypt after the CAF awards ceremony. However, Abou-Treika sounded his satisfaction of being number two on the Dark Continent. During a lengthy interview with FilGoal.com, the 30-year-old summed up his feelings about the CAF nomination process. How did you feel after the announcement of the 2008 winner? Abou-Treika: I felt as if I won, a lot of great players were praising me, such as Augustine Okocha and Daniel Amokachi, who told me 'you are the best', that's why I felt that I have pulled off a meaningful achievement for Ahli and Egypt alike. The huge support I got in the last few weeks was unbelievable, for me it was more important than the award itself, and after all to be on the three-man list is a great honor. In your opinion, why did Adebayor win? Adebayor plays in the best league in the world (the Premier League), and he takes part in gigantic competitions, such as the UEFA Champions League. He put on good performances with Arsenal and scored a multitude of crucial goals in pivotal games, and thus he was always in the public eyes. On the other hand, I didn't get the chance to be in the spotlight throughout last year like him. I only came to get noticed during the African Cup of Nations and the FIFA Club World Cup, because the CAF Champions League is not globally popular. On top of that, Adebayor is a skillful player and he deserved to be named the best African footballer, and I think he will further develop himself. Do you think you and Adebayor were the only real nominees for the award? Michael Essien was hampered by his injury. He produced riveting displays with Ghana in the African Cup of Nations, and also impressed with Chelsea, but his long lay-off dented his hopes to win the award. Do you think of yourself as a football icon for all Egyptians, or fans are more driven by their own allegiances to their clubs? In general, football supporters would like to see their clubs at their best, in terms of results and consistency, but I'm not keen to become an icon. I believe football is a good way to convey constructive messages by stressing on certain moral values and principles. Sometimes I manage to successfully put my ideas across, and other times I fail, but my trend is always the same. I'm trying to be honest and dedicated. The political slogan that I displayed in the African Cup of Nations was an attempt to draw more attention to the Palestinian cause, it's like holding anti-poverty games. I'm not trying to affect the public opinion, I just point out to some matters that are worth paying attention to. Football is almost the only thing that makes the Egyptian people happy, and I feel delighted whenever my deeds are useful for them. What's your take on the widely-spread notion that Egyptian people would have to wait another 25 years to see a player like yourself or Mahmoud Al-Khatib scooping the Glo-CAF award? It's been a while indeed since an Egyptian player was shortlisted for the Glo-CAF award, therefore I had a substantial chance to win this year, especially after maintaining a good form with Egypt and Ahli.
...and the CAN 2008 with Egypt Some big names were out of contention for the award, such as Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba, who could have beaten off competitions from the other nominees. Honestly, I don't know what the future will bring. Egypt boast some high-caliber players who are capable of repeating Al-Khatib's feat in the near future, like Amr Zaki, Mido and Mohamed Zidan. I will go for it again, it's achievable as long as long as I'm still playing. But I would like to say that personal accolades only make the winner happy, whereas teams' titles cheer everyone up. Did you Know Hassan Shehata's vote for Africa's best player? The greatest thing about the competition was transparency. All competitors got to know the votes differences and whom elected them for which places. I knew before the announcement of the winner that Shehata picked me for the first place, Zaki for the second and Drogba for the third. What really made me sad is that the tacticians of the Arab national teams didn't cast their votes for me. This really reflects how disunited Arabs are. If you were a coach, would you give your support to an incompetent Arab player? The shortlist would never include incompetent players, otherwise they wouldn't be nominated in the first place. If there was an Arab among them, I would definitely support him (as a coach). Shehata did the same this year, he believed in Adebayor's abilities, but he preferred to cast his vote to Drogba, who had no hopes at all, so that if me or Zaki were shortlisted, we would have a better chance. I actually respect his way of thinking, it makes a lot of sense. Would you have reconsidered starting an abroad adventure if you had won? I don't think I would have. Awards are just made to honor high-profile players. Nobody would get oversees offers because of his personal accolades. Losing the Glo-CAF award could be a motive for me to play abroad in order to enhance my prospects of winning the award next year. But I think it's a little bit too late for such a dream. I've turned 30, and I'm convinced that living in a new country would entail a long time to adapt to its lifestyle. Playing abroad is not an objective, the aim would be leaving my mark on a competitive league with my new club. Right now I believe staying put is the best thing to do. Then you think staying at Ahli would be safer for you than having a fruitless spell with a foreign-based club? Any new experience could either turn good or ugly, but of course you would be more secure with your current club, where you are enjoying popularity. your fans would support you even when you mess up. Playing abroad, on the other hand, would be less comfortable. You would need time to gain in popularity, till then no one would forgive your blunders. How do you think Egypt would perform in the FIFA Confederations Cup in June? No doubt that it's a tough mission, especially that we have been drawn alongside Brazil and Italy in Group B, but everything is possible in football. We want to benefit from this tournament, we will clash with the strongest teams in the World and that would be a great experience. But our main task is to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, not to claim the Confederations Cup title. Egypt usually put in fluctuating performances in the matches scheduled far apart from each other, and maintain steadiness in competitions' consecutive games. How can that problem be ended? This is no longer a problem; the coaching staff thoroughly went through this issue and talked it over with the players and the Egyptian FA officials as well. All players will most probably take part in a training camp 10 days ahead of every game, and that should be sufficient for the whole team to get ready. The only problem would be having no break between seasons, a dilemma that Ahli's players usually face.
