Egyptians wait to shine in MLS

CAIRO – 10 February 2018: Three weeks into the start of the new season in Major League Soccer (MLS), the teams begin to return home after the pre-season.

Some have already played their first friendly matches, as the champions, Toronto FC, fell to Mexico's Club America.

Three Egyptian players are competing with their teams in the MLS this season: Omar Gaber, Aly Ghazal and Amro Tarek.


Basel's Omar Gaber holds a ball during training with his team, Basel, 28-6-2017, Photo Courtesy of Gaber’s official Twitter account

Omar Gaber joined Los Angeles FC last November, coming from FC Basel of Switzerland.

Gaber hopes to earn more minutes with his American club to be able to fight for a starting place in the Egyptian squad during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Gaber will play under the command of his former coach at the national team, Bob Bradley, who is managing Los Angeles.

Los Angeles will play in MLS for the first time in their history next season. Bradley hopes to have experienced players alongside him in his difficult mission with the club.


Aly Ghazal – Courtesy of Ghazal Official Facebook page


Another Egyptian player who will feature in the MLS this season is Aly Ghazal.

Ghazal signed a one-year deal with Canadian team Vancouver Whitecaps last August to have a new challenge in the North American continent.

Ali Ghazal, 25 years old, played four years in Portugal with Nacional da Madeira, where he had his best spell in his career.

Vancouver plays in MLS Western Conference. Their best achievement was in 2015 when they won Canadian Championship, and they also played in the 2016 CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals.



Amro Tarek – Courtesy of Ghazal Official Instagram page

The third player is Amro Tarek, who recently joined Orlando City SC on a one-year loan coming from Wadi Degla FC.

The 25-year-old played for Real Betis in 2016 before he was loaned to Columbus Crew, a club in MLS, where he made only one appearance. Having some familiarity with MLS should help Tarek get acclimated to his new team.

Tarek played two seasons for Egyptian Premier League team El-Gouna FC from 2013 to 2015, making 47 appearances across all competitions. He began his career in 2010-11 with FC Magdeburg II in Germany before moving to SC Freiburg II and VfL Wolfsburg II.

Tarek, who was born in Los Angeles but moved to Egypt as a child, made his senior international debut for Egypt on March 28, 2017 in a 3-0 friendly win over Togo.

He will participate in the Eastern Conference of the MLS, while the other two Egyptians compete in the Western Conference.


Major League Soccer’s clubs participating this season – Courtesy of MLS website


It is also time to see the new additions in action. Among those who have raised more excitement this year are Dutch player Gregory Van de Wiel in Toronto; Chilean player Felipe Gutiérrez, who arrives at Sporting Kansas City; Serbian player Aleksandar Katai, signed by Chicago Fire; and Argentinean player Ezequiel Barco, who will play for Atlanta United.

Barco, 18, is one of the great sensations of the competition, since he leads a group of young South American promises, most offensive features, who will debut this year in the MLS.

The Argentinean midfielder played for Atlético de Madrid, but he finally accepted the offer of Atlanta, which is coached by former Barcelona coach Tata Martino.

From Uruguay arrives promising striker Diego Rossi (19 years old) to Los Angeles FC, where he will also play under Catalan coach Pol Calvet.

Meanwhile, New York City FC has bet on young Paraguayan Jesus Medina (20), who must face his compatriot Josue Colman (19), who recently joined Orlando City.