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Mohamed Barakat (Arabic: محمد بركات; born 20 November 1976) is a retired Egyptian footballer. A right-footed playmaker, Barakat usually played as an offensive right winger or attacking midfielder for Egyptian club Al Ahly and the Egyptian National Team. He is considered by many as one of the most talented players in Africa. Barakat's hallmarks are surging runs from midfield which often disrupt opposing defences, as well as his box-to-box work ethic, which makes him an important figure both in defence and attack. Thanks to his noticeable achievements and talent, his fans have given him the nickname The Mercurial (Arabic: بركات الزئبقي), He reached his peak in 2005 and 2006, helping his club Al Ahly to win the CAF Champions League 2005 and CAF Champions League 2006 and Egypt win their fifth African Cup of Nations Egypt 2006. However, in 2006 his career was marred by a long spell of injuries.
Club career
Early career
Barakat began his career at unheralded Sekka but really found his feet when he joined Al-Ismaily – just about the only club in Egypt with the ability to stand up to the 'big boys' of Al Ahly and Zamalek.
Gulf Countries
The 2002 Egyptian Footballer of the Year has joined Ahly Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. He helped the later win 2003 Arab Club Championship. Barakat scored twice in that tournament; including the Final winner goal. and then going to Alarabi in Qatar.
Al Ahly
Barakat returned to Egypt in 2004 to join Al Ahly. Some have commented that the combination with Mohamed Aboutrika and Emad Moteab formed the most formidable triangle in African Soccer, and they were given the moniker of "The Bermuda Triangle".
Mohamed Barakat won the BBC African Footballer of 2005 award ahead of Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o and Obafemi Martins of Nigeria. More than 15,000 voted for him. He was also named the best player in Africa's continental club competition by the African Football Association for the same year, as he scored 7 goals in the CAF Champions League 2005. Barakat started the season of 2013 with some bad performances, but after sometime he got back to his perfect form and scored in the CAF Super Cup 2013 the winning goal, which led Al Ahly to win the cup. After he played a match against Benzarty match in CAF Champions League 2013 and scored a goal from a penalty, he also made an assist to Emad Meteb. Two weeks later there were rumors of his retirement and Barakat admitted he was thinking of retiring because he is 37 years old. After with two days Barakat scored two goals against Enpii in the Egyptian league from a penalty and a shot. People all thought and said Barakat still has one or two seasons ahead after that amazing performance and goals and that he looked like he was eighteen while playing even though he is 37, but unfortunately three weeks after, Barakat announced that he was going to retire at the end of this season, putting an end to the career.
Retirement
After the Port Said Stadium clashes, on 1 February 2012, Barakat decided to retire from professional football, along with Emad Motaeb and Mohamed Aboutrika. However, he reversed his decision and returned to Al Ahly once again.
International career
Barakat made his debut for the Pharaohs in June 2000 against South Korea. He played 4 matches in 2002 African Cup of Nations and all Egypt's matches in 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. Barakat ended his international career on 18 November 2009 after his dream to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup was crashed by Algeria that won 1–0, he told the press about that discussion on 11 August 2010.
International goals
- Source:
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition | Scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 Mar 2001 | Egypt |  Algeria | 5–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | 1 |
| 2 | 24 Apr 2001 | Egypt |  Canada | 3–0 | Friendly | 1 |
| 3 | 13 July 2001 | Egypt |  Namibia | 8–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification | 2 |
| 5 | 8 Aug 2002 | Egypt |  Ethiopia | 4–1 | Friendly | 1 |
| 6 | 23 Aug 2002 | Egypt |  Sudan | 3–0 | Friendly | 2 |
| 8 | 25 Jan 2004 | Stade Taïeb Mhiri, Sfax, Tunisia |  Zimbabwe | 2–1 | 2004 African Cup of Nations | 1 |
| 9 | 5 Nov 2009 | Egypt |  Tanzania | 5–1 | Friendly | 1 |
Honours and achievements
Club
- Ismaily
- Egyptian Premier League: 2001–02
- Egypt Cup: 2000
- Al Ahli Saudi
- Arab Unified Club Championship: 2002
- Al Ahly
- Egyptian Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
- Egypt Cup: 2006, 2007
- Egyptian Super Cup: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011
- CAF Champions League: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013
- CAF Super Cup: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013
International
- Egypt
- African Cup of Nations: 2006
Individual
Awards
- BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2005
- African Inter-Club Player of the Year: 2005
- CAF Team of the Year: 2005
Performances
- CAF Champions League top goalscorer: 2005 (Shared with Joetex Frimpong)