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Ahmed Hassan (Egyptian Arabic: أحمد حسن; born 2 May 1975 in Maghagha, Egypt) is a retired Egyptian footballer. He played as an attacking midfielder or on the right wing for Egyptian national team. He is the most capped international male footballer in history, with 184 appearances for The Pharaohs. He is regarded as one of the best players in African football history.
Club career
Ahmed Hassan started his professional football career as a right-back at Aswan Club in the Egyptian lower divisions. After one season there, he moved to the more successful Ismaily. He was 20 when he was selected for the first time to play in the Egyptian national team's friendly match against Ghana on 29 December 1995. After his impressive performances with the Egyptian national team in the African Cup of Nations 1998, including scoring a goal from a long range shot against South Africa in the final that helped the squad win the tournament, Hassan joined Turkish side Kocaelispor at the age of 22. In 2000, he was transferred to Denizlispor before joining his Egyptian international teammate Abdel-Zaher El-Saqua in 2001 when he moved to Gençlerbirliği. Following three successful seasons with the club, during which the team twice made the Turkish Cup Final, he moved to Beşiktaş where he was a first team regular as well as a regular on the team's scoring sheet. He particularly impressed manager Jean Tigana who, despite being known for selecting younger players for his first team, still regarded the 30-year-old Hassan a key player of the squad. Tigana stated that "Hassan is a hardworking player who is quick and talented."
RSC Anderlecht
After Hassan was named "Best Player of the African Cup of Nations 2006" he met Ziyad Abou Chair who gave him licence to play in foreign countries, Fulham, Rangers, Newcastle United, and Espanyol were reportedly interested in signing him. However, he chose to move to R.S.C. Anderlecht, the Belgian First Division champions, on a free transfer after choosing not to extend his contract with Beşiktaş, which ended in 2006. Hassan joined Anderlecht due to its automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League and became an important part of the Anderlecht attack, setting up and scoring goals himself. His position in the midfield was in front of Lucas Biglia and Jan Polák, just behind the strikers Serhat Akin and Nicolas Frutos. In the 2007–08 season, he stated that that season would be his last for Anderlecht. His family had already returned to Egypt, and he followed them there.
Returns to Egypt
Ahmed Hassan chose to move to Egyptian club Al Ahly to end his career in Egypt, signing a three-year contract as of May 2008. He scored in his first competitive match against legendary rival Zamalek, in the opening of the CAF Champions League, from a long-range free-kick. In September 2010 he suffered a career-threatening injury in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone that would keep him away from the fields for six months.
On 19 July 2011, Hassan signed with Ahly's bitter rivals Zamalek to a two-year contract as a free transfer after his contract with Ahly expired. On 20 September 2011, Hassan made his official debut with Zamalek in a cup match against Wadi Degla giving a phenomenal performance and scoring two goals and helping his team defeat Degla 4–1 and qualify to the next round. When the league was stopped in February due to the Port Said Stadium disaster, Hassan had played in all 15 games for Zamalek finishing as top scorer of the team with 7 goals. He then scored in a CAF Champions League match against Moroccan Maghreb Fez with a header in the 81st minute. On 16 January Hassan scored in a friendly against Ukrainian giants FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
International career
Hassan has played in eight Africa Cup of Nations tournaments for Egypt, winning the tournament four times, in 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010. In the 2006 tournament, he was named captain and scored four goals in six matches, the second-highest individual goal tally in that year's tournament. He was named best player of the tournament after winning his second title and Egypt's fifth, a feat he repeated in 2010 at the age of 34. In 2008, Hassan captained Egypt to their sixth Africa Cup of Nations victory. Ahmed Hassan is one of a number of players who have earned more than 100 international caps for Egypt, and is currently the most capped male player for any country, ahead of Mohamed Al-Deayea of Saudi Arabia and Claudio Suárez of Mexico. He also holds the record for most Africa Cup of Nations won by any player in history.
Hassan broke Hossam Hassan's appearance record with his 170th cap for Egypt on 25 January 2010 in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter final against Cameroon. He had an eventful game: he headed an Achille Emaná corner into his own net (though Emana was credited with the goal); equalized from long range and claimed the final goal in a 3–1 win in extra time from a free-kick despite replays showing the ball did not cross the line. On 31 January 2010, Hassan picked up his fourth Africa Cup of Nations winners's medal as Egypt defeated Ghana 1–0 in the final. In November 2011, Hassan played his 178th game for Egypt in a friendly against Brazil. In doing so he matched the record for international appearances. On 27 March 2012, Hassan started a friendly match against Kenya breaking the world record for most international appearances for any international male player with 184 matches played.
International
| Egypt national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Career | Apps | Goals |
| 1995–2012 | 184 | 33 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Egypt's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8 November 1996 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Namibia | 2–0 | 7–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 27 July 1997 | Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt |  Ethiopia | 7–1 | 8–1 | 1998 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3. | 18 December 1997 | Aswan Stadium, Aswan, Egypt |  Togo | 2–0 | 7–2 | Friendly |
| 4. | 28 February 1998 | Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |  South Africa | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1998 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 5. | 27 July 1999 | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico |  Mexico | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup |
| 6. | 14 January 2001 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Libya | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 7. | 3–0 | |||||
| 8. | 12 February 2003 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Denmark | 1–0 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 9. | 8 June 2003 | Port Said Stadium, Port Said, Egypt |  Mauritius | 6–0 | 7–0 | 2004 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 10. | 7–0 | |||||
| 11. | 8 June 2003 | Port Said Stadium, Port Said, Egypt |  Rwanda | 4–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 12. | 5–0 | |||||
| 13. | 4 July 2004 | Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin |  Benin | 1–2 | 3–3 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 14. | 5 September 2004 | Arab Contractors Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Cameroon | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 15. | 27 March 2005 | Arab Contractors Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | Libya | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 16. | 27 May 2005 | Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait |  Kuwait | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 17. | 20 January 2006 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | Libya | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2006 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 18. | 3 February 2006 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  DR Congo | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2006 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 19. | 4–1 | |||||
| 20. | 7 February 2006 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Senegal | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2006 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 21. | 2 September 2006 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Burundi | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 22. | 3 June 2007 | Stade Olympique, Nouakchott, Mauritania |  Mauritania | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 23. | 5 January 2008 | Aswan Stadium, Aswan, Egypt | Namibia | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 24. | 6 June 2008 | El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium, Djibouti, Djibouti |  Djibouti | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 25. | 12 October 2008 | Cairo Military Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | Djibouti | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 26. | 23 January 2009 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Kenya | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 27. | 5 September 2009 | Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda | Rwanda | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 28. | 2 October 2009 | Petro Sport Stadium, New Cairo, Egypt | Mauritius | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 29. | 12 January 2010 | Estádio Nacional de Ombaka, Benguela, Angola |  Nigeria | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2010 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 30. | 25 January 2010 | Estádio Nacional de Ombaka, Benguela, Angola | Cameroon | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2010 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 31. | 3–1 | |||||
| 32. | 11 August 2010 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  DR Congo | 5–1 | 6–3 | Friendly |
| 33. | 27 February 2012 | Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar | Kenya | 2–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Ismaily
- Egypt Cup: 1997
Beşiktaş
- Türkiye Kupası: 2005–06
Anderlecht
- Belgian Pro League: 2006–07
- Belgian Cup: 2007–08
- Belgian Super Cup: 2007
Al Ahly
- Egyptian Premier League: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
- Egyptian Super Cup: 2008, 2010
- CAF Champions League: 2008
- African Super Cup: 2009
Zamalek
- Egypt Cup: 2013
Egypt
- African Cup of Nations: 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010
Individual
- Africa Cup of Nations Best Player: 2006, 2010
- African Inter-Club Player of the Year: 2010
- Africa Cup of Nations Dream Team: 2006, 2010
Holland–Belgium World Cup bid
Hassan was selected as an ambassador for the Holland–Belgium 2018 or 2022 World Cup bid along with Ruud Gullit.
Charity work
Hassan is President of The SATUC Cup, an international football competition for refugees and orphans.