Ghazal, an Egyptian success story abroad

CAIRO – 25 September 2017: Aly Ghazal is one of the brightest Egyptian talents abroad, and he had a long journey in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Ghazal, born in Aswan, joined the Canadian club Vancouver Whitecaps in July. Egypt Today interviewed him to speak about his journey with football and his ambitions with his new club.

“I started playing football at El Seka El Hadid club in Cairo, then I joined Wadi Degla Club when I was 14-years-old. I stayed there for five years before joining Nacional Madera in Portugal.” Ghazal told Egypt Today about his beginnings.

Ghazal, 25-years-old continued, “I had a great time there and I was the Captain of Nacional Madera.”


Ghazal captained Nacional Madeira, Ghazal Official Facebook page


Ghazal shined with Nacional and he was one of the best players in the league, Ghazal said, “I received many offers to join the biggest clubs in Portugal, but Nacional Madera refused to release me many times.”

He added, “I had great seasons in Portugal and I left the club with great memories and a legacy to be remembered by.”

Many Egyptian players accompanied Ghazal in the Portuguese League, but most of them left quickly. Ghazal has an opinion about their experience. He said, “Each player has his own circumstances, some of them failed to adapt and others were already stars in Egypt. They found a different situation in Portugal so they decided to return.” Ghazal stated.

Ghazal received an offer from China, and Nacional agreed to let him go. He further explained, “The club finally allowed me to leave when they received an offer from the Chinese club Guizhou Zhicheng. Nacional suffered from a financial crisis and they had to sell their biggest players.”



Ghazal in China, Ghazal Official Facebook page


He was asked about why he chose China. Ghazal answered, “I decided to go to China and have a new experience, but two days before joining Guizhou Zhicheng, the Chinese football federation decided to decrease the foreign players for each team. This decision affected my participation with the club so I had to leave.”

Ghazal added, “I had many offers after leaving Guizhou Zhicheng, three offers from Portugal, another offer from Turkey, and an offer from Vancouver Whitecaps.”



Aly Ghazal with Vancouver Whitecaps, Ghazal Official Facebook page


Ghazal experienced playing for the Egypt National Team, but he was not among the national team’s manager, Hector Cuper’s plans.

Egypt Today asked Ghazal if his new step in MLS would help him to rejoin the national team. He answered, “It doesn’t matter where I am playing, I was in Portugal and I was not playing on the national team.”

His beginning went well with Vancouver. He played three games and missed only one. They acquired 10 points after three victories and a draw.

Vancouver Whitecaps tops the Western conference of MLS with 48 points after 29 games, and they will use Ghazal’s experience to continue far into the competition.

Finally, Ghazal spoke about his ambitions with his new club. He said, “I joined Vancouver Whitecaps because I wanted to play in MLS, it is a growing league and many great players are playing there, it is a great opportunity for me to play there.”