Egypt's new national team coach Hossam El-Badry promised to meet the fans' expectations by qualifying for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon as well as reaching the 2022 World Cup finals. El-Badry's statements were made at the Egyptian Football Association's press conference introducing the coach on Thursday.
"Now I achieved my dream of coaching the national team. This is what I have been waiting for my entire career," El-Badry said.
"I want to follow in the footsteps of iconic managers Mahmoud El-Gohary and Hassan Shehata and bring home trophies just like they did."
When he was asked about how he would select the national team squad, El-Badry said the national team suffered from the lack of players in more positions than one and that he would do his best to find the perfect selection.
"I promise to do justice in choosing the national team squad. I also promise to do my best with the technical staff to meet the expectations of the Egyptian football fans," El-Badry said.
"We need the support of the media. They play an important role in the sports field. We need to achieve something for Egypt and the Egyptian people," he stressed.
Egypt's national team, who had been on the lookout for a new coach following the sacking of Mexican tactician Javier Aguirre after quickly exiting the Africa Nations Cup held home in June-July following a 1-0 loss to South Africa in the 16th round, are competing in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers alongside the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
"My target is to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations as well as to reach the 2022 World Cup," El-Badry said.
"Coaching Egypt's national team needs more work, and this work needs time."
Brazil and Argentina friendlies
El-Badry commented on refusing to play two friendly games against Brazil and Argentina, saying that at that time Egypt needed to face African teams in preparation for continental tournaments.
"The Egyptian Football Association received an offer from Brazil to play a friendly game before my arrival and they didn't respond to this request as the team hadn't assigned a coach.
"I heard about the Argentina friendly offer, but we already have a game with Kenya in November, so we need to face an African team to prepare for the coming official clash.
"Botswana are the closest team to face in a friendly and we will announce it officially soon," El-Badry said.
Egypt national team squad to witness new faces
El-Badry, who is the first Egyptian manager in Egypt's hot seat in four years following Argentinean tactician Hector Cuper (2015-2018) and Aguirre (2018-2019), promised to call in new faces in the Pharaohs squad as he will build on them for the future.
"We are currently discussing more points with the technical staff ahead of announcing the squad that will see the appearance of new faces," El-Badry told the press conference.
"We will contact Egypt Olympic team coach Shawky Gharib to see what is useful for the two teams in the coming competitions.
"The national team lack in some positions, such as the front line, especially after Ahly striker Marwan Mohsen was injured and out of the field for five weeks.
"The Egyptian Premier League became a strong tournament. I hope the league will be a good support for the national team.
"We are encountering difficulties in selecting the Egypt national team squad, but I am optimistic about the young players as well as the Olympic team who are the future of Egypt," El-Badry said.
Captaincy armband system
The 59-year-old coach revealed that he could change the system of the Egypt national team captaincy armband, as he will choose the Pharaohs' captain according to the team's needs.
"I didn't decide on the team captain. We will take the decision according to the team's needs and what will help the squad."
El-Badry proud of Liverpool's Salah
El-Badry said he was proud to have a player like Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah in his squad, confirming he would support him to avoid the previous mistakes.
"I followed the problems of Salah before my arrival as a football fan so I promise to avoid them," El-Badry said.
"Salah is a worthy player. We are proud of him and we have to help him.
"All our support is to Salah."
National team technical staff:
Head coach: Hossam El-Badry
General managers: Tarek Mostafa and Ahmed Ayoub
Football director: Mohamed Barakat
Assistant coach: Sayed Moawad
Goalkeepers coach: Ayman Taher
El-Badry, who made 18 appearances for Egypt as a player, made his playing career with Ahly for nine seasons between 1978 and1987.
He made his debut in coaching in 2001 under his mentor Portuguese coach Manuel Jose, who was considered the most successful coach in Ahly's history after leading the Red Devils to 21 titles including four Champions League trophies.
El-Badry took over Ahly's job on three occasions in 2009-2010, 2012-2013 and 2016-2018, winning four Premier League titles and a Champions League in 2012. He also coached Enppi, Ahly of Tripoli and Al-Merrikh, leading the Sudanese giants to the league title in 2012.
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