Amr Zaki smartly fought his way back to Zamalek after failing to rebuild his name at the Premier League, but his efforts will be to no avail should he lose the next battle inside the Cairo club. In the second half of the season, the Zak spent an unproductive loan spell at Hull City from Zamalek, during which he couldn't find the net and was hampered by hamstring and knee problems. His wretched condition caused the English minnows to end his six-month stint prematurely, leaving him no choice but to settle for a place with the White Knights. But to return to Zamalek the 27-year-old had to make amends for the irresponsible attitude he adopted ahead of his winter exit. Right before sealing his move to Hull, Zaki incurred the wrath of Zamalek's officials for persistently skipping regular training sessions. Among others, Hossam Hassan revealed dislikes about the robust striker in January, citing his 'inappropriate acts' and 'problems of indiscipline'. Zaki's antics weren't quite forgotten when he first came back to Egypt as his arrival was neglected for a while by head coach Hassan and his backroom boys. But the Bulldozer managed to repair his broken relationship with the outfit he first joined in 2006. Love Zaki made it crystal clear that he was willing to sacrifice the money Hull owe him pursuant to his loan contract, just to be able to take part in Zamalek's remaining matches this season. His approach definitely paid off.
Emam (M) "Zaki demonstrated his love for Zamalek," board member Hazem Emam said after the misfiring frontman paid the club a visit. "He went to Zamalek's headquarters on Sunday and expressed his wish to play in the remaining league and cup games. "He said he is ready to give up the EGP one million Hull owe him. He also said he doesn't want to take any money from Zamalek until the end of the season." Zaki translated his words into actions in no time by terminating his deal with the Tigers to become eligible to feature for Zamalek. The Mansoura-born footballer successfully paved the way for himself to rejoin the five-time African champions but he shouldn't feel any exhilaration at the moment. Former ENPPI star Zaki has to spare no effort within the next few weeks if he's to regain a regular starting berth at Zamalek, which is by far a tough task. What makes his next mission pretty difficult is that Hassan tends to rely on a lone striker in Ahmed Gafaar, who's now Zamalek's top scorer with an eight-goal tally. Former Telecom Egypt hitman Gafaar is not as celebrated as Zaki, nevertheless; he has undoubtedly proved to be more prolific and influential with Hassan's team. Subsequently, Zaki has to give his boss a very good reason to play him regularly. Form "Only Zaki's form will determine whether he's going to play or not," Zamalek tactician Hassan told FilGoal.com.
Hassan "Of course he's an important player in the team but the past months must have (negatively) affected him, physically and psychologically. "He has to fit in. He hasn't played yet with our current selection of players, so we need to see how he will influence the team's harmony. "The bottom line is that his status in the team is contingent upon his outcome." Zaki's touch was lost over a year ago as he notched up his last goal at club level in December 2008 when he was plying his trade at Wigan Athletic. He took the Premier League by storm in the 2008-2009 season, producing scintillating displays with the Latics and scoring ten goals before the halfway mark. However, he ended his year-long adventure at JJB on a low note after falling out with his then manager Steve Bruce and suffering a dip in form. Zaki moved back to Zamalek last summer but staggeringly failed again to revive his goalscoring instincts. His inability to get his name on the score sheet in the Egyptian league was once put down to his eagerness to get back to the Premiership. His return to the elite competition did him no favor though. Zaki featured for Hull only six times. He couldn't open his account at the KC Stadium and particularly lacked match fitness due to the nagging injuries he sustained. Now he's hoping to enjoy a rebirth at Zamalek under the highly-rated Hassan.
