Marmoush in focus

Inas Mazhar , Tuesday 15 Oct 2024

Once again, an Egyptian footballer is making headlines in Germany, writes Inas Mazhar

Marmoush
Marmoush

 

In years past, seven Egyptian footballers excelled in the Bundesliga: Mohamed Emara, Hani Ramzi, Ahmed Salah Hosni, Yasser Radwan, Mohamed Zidan, Gamal Hamza and Samir Kamouna.

You can now make them eight.

The most recent vibe is that of Omar Marmoush who is currently topping the Bundesliga scorers chart for Eintracht Frankfurt. Marmoush has eight goals in six games this season, ahead of Bayern Munich and star England striker Harry Kane who has five goals, second in the table.

The 25-year-old forward recently made an appearance in Cairo, joining the Pharaohs in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Mauritania earlier this week. Since joining the Pharaohs, Marmoush has scored six goals in 32 caps.

Marmoush is the newest talk of the town among Egyptian football lovers for his outstanding performances, class, technique and goals scored, which have raised his profile significantly, bringing him lucrative offers from clubs in the Bundesliga and around other parts in Europe. Marmoush is now on the minds of clubs, managers and coaches. These days, he has become an inspiration to ball boys and young footballers. He is their hero.

Marmoush, who also holds Canadian nationality, is a product of the Egyptian Wadi Degla Club Youth Academy. He moved to Europe at 18, signing for Wolfsburg’s reserves side in 2017 and then making his professional debut with the club in 2020.

The 1.82 striker netted his first senior goal in Germany while on loan at St. Pauli in the second half of the 2020/21 season, but it wasn›t until his 2021/22 loan move to Stuttgart that he scored a last-minute equaliser against current club Frankfurt that things really started to click.

His return of three goals in 21 appearances for the Schwabian club belies the quality he showed in that campaign. Marmoush earned two Bundesliga Rookie of the Month awards, in September 2021 and March 2022, as well as a call-up to the Egypt national team. The rising star’s stock rose even further when he scored the winning goal on his international debut in a 1-0 victory over Libya in October 2021, after which he was included in the Pharaoh’s squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

A recall to parent club Wolfsburg followed and, in what has become a pattern with the ambitious forward, he hit the ground running in season 2022/23. With six goals and one assist in 36 appearances in all competitions, Marmoush continued to impress - and continued to grow in confidence.

He agreed a transfer to Frankfurt in summer 2023 and wasted no time getting into the groove at Deutsche Bank Park, smashing in six Bundesliga goals in his first 10 league outings for the Eagles, as well as three in three in the UEFA Europa Conference League. A goal and two assists against Bayern Munich - contributing to a 5-1 win - saw him match his then best ever full-season statistics (seven goals, three assists), after just 14 games of the campaign.

He went on to rack up a total of 16 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions in 2023/24, notching braces in the famous 3-3 draw with Dortmund and away to Union Berlin the very next week as well as another two-assist, one-goal turn, this time away to Freiburg.

Despite intense transfer interest from a number of renowned European clubs in the summer of 2024, Marmoush stayed put at Deutsche Bank Park and the decision has been vindicated by his stunning early-season form in 2024/25. While his career thus far has been something of a slow and steady build, what Bundesliga fans are seeing this season looks more like an explosion.

Following his goal-and-assist performance in the 3-1 win over Hoffenheim on Matchday 2, Marmoush scored in four successive matches for a league-high six goals (as well as three assists) after just five matchdays. Two of those goals and two of those assists came in the 4-2 win over Holstein Kiel on Matchday 5, which he followed up with a goal in Frankfurt’s 3-1 Europa League win over Besiktas in Istanbul just four days later. It seems the Pharaoh consistently takes his game to the next level.

Well beforehand, Marmoush was in regular contact with the poster boy of Egyptian football, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.

“We’re in touch. The contact between the Egyptian players in Europe is very good,” Marmoush told the St. Pauli website when quizzed on Salah, the two-time African Player of the Year. “We try to support each other because we know it isn’t easy to make the transition to Europe.”

And it’s not just support that Salah has provided Marmoush; the Liverpool talisman has clearly also been something of a guiding light for the Frankfurt star.

“He managed to become one of the three best players in the world,” Marmoush told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “That inspires me and it’s something I also want to achieve.”

Frankfurt head coach Dino Toppmöller had his say after Marmoush’s turn in the 4-2 win over Holstein Kiel on Matchday 5 (2024/25).

“He’s responsible for producing danger up front, firing in goals and setting up others. He’s very difficult to defend due to his pace and how fast he can run in deep. He can also sneak in from close range, take a great touch and play some great passes. He’s in outstanding form at the moment, and he’s feeling comfortable. That’s the key to his success these days. He feels comfortable with this club and the squad, and is thus a key component for us.”

Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krösche in September 2023 said Marmoush had already proven that he can hold his own in the Bundesliga “but at the same time, he still has great potential to develop further”.

Former Egypt international goalkeeper Ahmed Shobair, now a TV presenter, also had his say on Marmoush: “What he has done in the German league since last season deserves even more praise and attention. Marmoush proves every day that he’s a distinguished talent and a wonderful player.”

Former Wolfsburg sporting director Marcel Schäfer also reacted to Marmoush’s exploits. “Over the past year, Omar has come on in leaps and bounds with good performances in the U23s, and that has seen him dip his toes into the Bundesliga and with the senior squad. Now he needs to gradually get used to playing at the Bundesliga level so that he can take it to the next step.”

Being in the spotlight at home and abroad, and dubbed the ‘youngsters hero’, fingers crossed that all goes well for Marmoush on his so far brilliant football journey.


* A version of this article appears in print in the 17 October, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Short link: