The Scottish newspaper "Daily Record" sang the praises of Egypt national team star Haitham Hassan, who is on the verge of joining Celtic during the current summer transfer window.
Haitham Hassan is close to leaving Real Oviedo this summer and playing for Celtic for £6 million, in a four-season contract with the possibility of extending for one additional season.
The newspaper praised Haitham Hassan's level with Egypt during the World Cup, especially against Argentina in the round of 16, where the Pharaohs lost 3-2 in a match that witnessed major refereeing controversy.
The newspaper recalled Haitham Hassan's wonderful dribbling past the Argentine players in the ball for Mostafa Zico's goal, which was disallowed after a VAR review.
The newspaper confirmed that the moment of Haitham Hassan and his dribbling past the Argentine players would have remained etched in memory and would rival the historic goal of legend Diego Armando Maradona against England in the 1986 World Cup, as well as Saeed Al-Owairan's goal against Belgium in the 1994 World Cup.
The newspaper concluded the match ruling, explaining that Zico's goal was disallowed in a brutal manner, while noting that Egypt was one step away from achieving one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, before the Argentine team turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 victory.
It reported that Haitham Hassan's star shone in this match, also speaking about Hossam Hassan, the coach of the Egypt national team, who had previously scored four goals against Celtic while wearing the shirt of Swiss club Neuchâtel in the UEFA Cup in 1991.
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The newspaper explained that although this defeat was extremely painful, it greatly raised Hossam Hassan's stock.
It added that the World Cup will be just the beginning for Haitham Hassan, despite the player's modest career so far with the clubs he has played for. The right winger, who was born in France to a Tunisian mother and an Egyptian father, was seen as a rising star with France's youth teams at Paris FC.
The newspaper continued, saying that Haitham Hassan is a big admirer of Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, as he said when playing in the Under-17 World Cup with France: "Kylian Mbappé is my role model, but I also admire Neymar, Eden Hazard, and Ronaldinho; they are players who put on great performances, and it's fun to watch them."
It went on to explain that Haitham Hassan moved to southern France to play for Châteauroux, where he was keen to be with the first team, while he had to obtain school approval to sign his first professional contract while still a teenager.
The newspaper quoted Haitham Hassan's statements at the time, in which he said: "That was on the first of June 2018; this date is truly engraved in my memory. I wanted to get a professional contract, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. I was surprised and truly happy about it. Playing as a professional is completely different. I think I haven't changed, and my friends from the club came to tell me that it's great."
He added: "I received other offers from clubs in Ligue 1 and the Premier League, but I wanted to sign with the club that believed in me. I got special permission not to miss the last week of the school year because training was scheduled to resume in June."
He explained: "I was taking notes, listening carefully, and trying to apply the instructions. I and five other people signed with the team and integrated quickly. Then I played a few minutes during the preparation period and really enjoyed it."
The newspaper added that Haitham Hassan's career took a different turn after signing with Châteauroux, as he signed with Villarreal and caught attention with the reserve team, then joined Mirandés in the Spanish Segunda División, before playing in La Liga through Sporting Gijón, and then settling with Real Oviedo.
The newspaper concluded by saying that if Haitham Hassan continues to deliver the same levels he showed with Egypt at the World Cup, Celtic fans will be truly happy about that.
