Argentina beats Egypt 2-0 in an average game

CAIRO, March 26 (Reuters) - Sergio Aguero set Argentina on their way to a 2-0 victory over African champions Egypt in a friendly on Wednesday.
Defender Nicolas Burdisso added the second with his first international goal as Argentina made light of the absence of the injured Lionel Messi and Juan Roman Riquelme.
Egypt were fielding virtually the same team which beat Cameroon in the Nations Cup final in Ghana one month ago.
Argentina took early control with Luis Gonzalez shooting across the face of the goal in the first minute.
They were close again with a Martin Demichelis header and a Maxi Rodriguez lob which was cleared off the line by Hani Said.
As Egypt fought their way into the game, Mohamed Zidan intercepted a clearance by Roberto Abbondanzieri and tried his luck with a 30-metre lob which was saved by the Argentine goalkeeper.
Zidan was close again early in the second half as he chested down a pass, cut inside his marker and shot narrowly wide of the right-hand post with Abbondanzieri beaten.
Mohamed Aboutrika wasted an excellent chance for Egypt when, after being found unmarked on the penalty spot by Ahmed Fathi, he shot weakly at Abbondanzieri.
Argentina's makeshift strike partnership of Julio Cruz and Aguero rarely threatened until the 64th minute when Aguero swept the ball wide from inside the area.
The breakthrough came two minutes later, when a long ball forward eluded the Egypt defence and found Aguero. The 19-year-old Atletico Madrid player burst into the penalty area and fired into the roof of the net.
Rodriguez tested Essam Al Hadari with a low 30-metre shot and Aguero wasted a chance for a second when he shot wide from a free position after Fernando Gago had opened up the Pharaohs' defence.
Argentina, now in firm control, added a second in the 85th minute when Burdisso scored with a looping header at the far post after being picked out by Rodriguez's free kick.

Al Hadari named in Egypt team for Argentina match

Egypt named goalkeeper Essam Al Hadari in their squad for next week's international against Argentina despite him being sidelined since an abortive bid to join a Swiss club last month.
Coach Hassan Shehata on Tuesday picked the same 23 players who won a record-breaking sixth Nations Cup in Ghana last month. The match in Cairo on March 26 is Egypt's first since beating Cameroon 1-0 in the tournament final.
Al Hadari returned to training with Cairo club Al Ahli last week after an unsuccessful attempt to break his contract and sign for Swiss club FC Sion.
The 35-year-old was fined 250,000 Egyptian pounds ($45,510) by the club and suspended for three weeks after trying to use a legal loophole to join Sion.
Al Hadari had sought to terminate his contract in line with Article 17 of FIFA's transfer regulations which allows players to cancel their contracts after a "protected period".
Al Hadari had hoped that because of his extended service at Al Ahli, he would be allowed to end his contract and move to Sion for a compensatory payment of 270,000 euros ($426,900), the equivalent of the rest of his contract with the Cairo club.
After being unveiled as a new signing by Sion and signing a deal until 2011, Al Hadari returned to Egypt at the start of the month when it became clear he could not make the move because he had not given Al Ahli the required notice period. (Writing by Mark Gleeson; editing by Miles Evans)

Ghana 2008: Egypt Crowned Champ

It has been a wonderful finale for twenty days of exciting football, the curtain came down when the Pharaohs tames the lions to clinch their six titles in a flying colors, the Egyptian lost non of their matches in this tournament and defeated the like of Cameron and Ivory Coast with four goals each, it has been the best ever for them.
Keeping the defeat in their opening game versus Egypt, Cameroon approached the finals with very little inclination to attack fielding a five man midfield and leaving Samuel Eto’o up front as the sole target man. The match was relatively poor and did not leave up to expectation for the most prestigious African competition, which draw the attention of star hunter worldwide.
The negative approach of the indomitable Lions helps the Egyptian to dominate and have the upper hand throughout the ninety minutes, and attack with all their might until Mohamed Aboutraika scored the game's only goal in the 77th minute to propel Egypt to victory.
In the end Cameroon had nothing in the box of tricks to trouble Egypt and as the whistle went Egypt celebrated history with their sixth African Nations championship.
The Egyptians won the continental trophy in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006 and 2008 while Cameroon celebrated victory in 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002

Easy task for Egypt in preliminary qualifiers

Egypt have been handed an easy draw in the preliminary stage of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers as they were placed in Group 12 along with DR Congo, Malawi and Djibouti.The Pharaohs, whose last World Cup appearance was in the 1990 tournament in Italy, are likely to ease into the next stage, where they will probably face a fierce battle.Egypt have crushed DR Congo 4-1 in the 2006 African Cup of Nations quarter-finals before eventually winning the tournament for a record-breaking fifth time.

Life is good in Egypt

Although Egypt is not a financially rich country, it is very rich with skilled labor, great minds, and fascinating culture. I am very optimistic about Egypt’s future. With the right government, Egypt should not be less than India in the computer technical support field or China in manufacturing. The labor cost is very cheap in Egypt and the workmanship is great. I think the government should do a better job in bringing foreign investments to Egypt.

In my opinion, Egypt should remove all subsidies on food items, gas, and services. Allowing the free market to dictate prices will significantly improve the financial status of the country and will relief the government from a huge burden and will allow it to focus on growing. If Egypt continues to subsidize everything, first, it will never be able to keep up with the increase in population, and the services such as education and Medicare will continue to decline… Second, it will never have enough money to improve the infrastructure and build revenue generating projects… To be continued.

Alexandria Library

During my last visit to my home town Alexandria I visited the Alexandria Library. A magnificent piece of architecture. A really beautiful building with fantastic view of the cost of the Mediterranean sea. Construction work began in 1995 and finished in 2002. It is located near the ancient library of Alexandria site. It is eleven stories and is partially submerged in a pool of water. The library saves over 5 million volume-books. It is on 11 levels and it looks like the sun sign of ancient Egypt. The new building is with area 40 130 square m. There are 9 group-study rooms with 92 study places and three information hives with 66 study places. The hives are equipped with cables for data communications and electrical wiring, so student may use laptops of their own or borrow one from the Learning Centre. The complex also houses a conference center; specialized libraries for the blind, for young people, and for children; three museums; four art galleries; a planetarium; and a manuscript restoration laboratory.

The Pyramids of Egypt

There are no more famous ancient sites within Egypt, or for that matter elsewhere in the world, than the Great Pyramids at Giza. They are, without question, the icon most associated with the Egypt. They have been both the main destination for tourists, and a source of imaginative thought to the world for over three thousand years.
However, there are actually over 100 pyramids in Egypt, many of which are relatively unknown to anyone who is not an ancient Egypt enthusiast. All but a very few are grouped around and near the City of Cairo, just south of the Nile Delta. Otherwise, only one royal pyramid is known in southern Egypt (at Abydos), that being the one built by Ahmose, founder of the 18th Dynasty and Egypt's New Kingdom. It may have also been the last royal pyramid built in Egypt.
Hence, major pyramids were not built throughout Egypt's ancient history. The Pyramid Age began with a burst of building, starting with the 3rd Dynasty reign of Djoser. Some of the early kings, most specifically Snefru, built more than one pyramid. Almost all of the kings added to their number through the end of the Middle Kingdom, with the possible exception of the First Intermediate Period between the Old and Middle Kingdoms. After the first Pharaoh of Egypt's New Kingdom, Ahmose, royal pyramid building by Egyptians ceased entirely. Somewhat abruptly the kings of the New Kingdom chose, rather than making their tombs completely obvious, to hide them in the hills of the West Bank of Thebes (modern Luxor).