French press reports have highlighted the unique phenomenon within the Egyptian national team, where a number of the Pharaohs' players carry nicknames inspired by global football legends.
The French newspaper Le Parisien pointed out that the Egyptian national team's lineup includes names like Zico, Trezeguet, and Dunga, which may suggest they belong to legends in global football, but in reality, they belong to Egyptian national team players.
It explained that this phenomenon dates back to an old tradition in Egyptian football, spread by coach Badr Ragab, who supervised the youth sector at Al Ahly club at the beginning of the millennium.
Ragab used to give his players the nicknames of global stars, aiming to motivate and encourage them to develop their level, relying on similarities in features or playing style.
Badr Ragab said in previous statements to Agence France-Presse: "I dreamed that these players would become global stars, and I wanted to motivate them by likening them to the most famous players in the world."
He added that the choice of nicknames was based on physical and technical similarity, noting that Mahmoud Hassan received the nickname Trezeguet due to the great resemblance to the former French striker David Trezeguet, in addition to his distinction in aerial games and scoring goals in a similar manner.
As for Mostafa Mohamed Zaki Abdel Raouf, known as Zico, the story of his nickname goes back to his older brother, who nicknamed himself after the Brazilian star Zico due to the similarity between the names Zico and Zaki.
With the beginning of Mostafa's football career, everyone started calling him "Little Zico," and the nickname stuck with him until he reached the first team.
The French newspaper also covered the story of Nabil Emad Dunga, who derived his nickname from the former Brazilian national team captain Dunga, after officials and coaches saw a similarity between him and the Brazilian star in playing position and style on the field.
On the other hand, reports confirmed that the nickname Zizo, carried by Ahmed Sayed, a player of Al Ahly club, is not related to the French star Zinedine Zidane, but is derived from his father's name, according to Egyptian traditions that sometimes dictate calling a person by their father's name.
The reports concluded by pointing out that these nicknames have become part of the football identity of the Egyptian national team players, to the extent that many of them have become more famous by them than their real names, which gives the Pharaohs' players a distinctive character in international forums.
