Zamalek's legends: Top 10 all-time greats for The El Nady El Malaky

Zamalek Sporting Club often referred to as Zamalek, is one of the best and most successful football clubs in Africa. Since its inception in 1911, the Giza-based club has been one of the most dominant clubs in the Egyptian Premier League. The club has hosted some of the biggest talents in African football. The Zamalek legends are among the best African club superstars.

Some huge names in African football, such as Tarek El Sayed and Shikabala, are closely related to the Egyptian club. Football in Northern Africa would have been dull if not for the brilliance shown by some of the players of Zamalek SC.

The list of Zamalek legends

According to many online posts, many talented figures in Egypt are linked to their membership with Zamalek SC. However, sportsbrief.com will focus on the 10 biggest Zamalek legends concerning the impact they had when at the club.

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10. Youssef Obama

Obama started his professional career with El Nady El Malaky after manager Mido promoted him from the under-23 team to the first team in July 2014. Due to his resemblance to former U.S. President Barack Obama, he was given the nickname Obama. He is one of the famous Zamalek legends.

Obama is one of the most decorated El Nady El Malaky players, with 12 titles.

• Egyptian Premier League 3x
• Egypt Cup 5x
• Egyptian Super Cup 1x
• Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup 1x
• CAF Confederation Cup 1x

9. Ismail Youssef

Ismail participated in sports for the club from 1984 to 1997. Youssef participated in 325 games for the team, including league and cup games. He participated in 97 international games for the Egyptian national football team. He is one of the best of Zamalek's legendary defenders.

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Youssef was a member of the Egyptian team that competed in the FIFA World Cup in 1990. He won 13 Titles with Zamalek. He is one of the best Zamalek legends.

8. Mohamed Aboul-Ela

He played for El Zamalek for 21 years, from eight years old until 29. He is one of the biggest Zamalek legends of all time. The 42-year-old won some very significant titles with the club, including;

• Egyptian Premier League 3x
• Egyptian Super Cup 3x
• Egypt Cup 3x
• African Cup Winners' Cup 1x
• CAF Champions League: 1x
• CAF Super Cup: 1x
• Afro-Asian Club Championship: 1x
• Arab Champions League: 1x
• Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup: 1x

7. Mohamed Abdel Shafy

His professional career began with the club’s youth team, followed by stops at ENPPI and Ghazl El-Mahalla. In 2009, he returned to El Nady El Malaky group. In his career, he has won 14 titles in total. He is one of Zamalek's legendary players.

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On December 31, 2009, Abdel Shafy received a call to play for the Egypt national football team. Some people were surprised to learn that Abdel Shafy would be travelling to Angola for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, according to Hassan Shehata, the coach of the Egyptian team.

6. Tarek El Sayed

El Sayed spent 13 seasons as an El Nady El Malaky player, dominating the left wing position. After winning the Egyptian Cup after the 2007–2008 season, the club did not include Tarek or his teammate Besheer El-Tabei on the roster for the upcoming campaign, leaving both players as free agents. He won 14 titles during his time at the club.

5. Abdelhalim Ali

The 48-year-old is a former Egyptian National Team striker. The now-retired star was a long-time player for the club. The 1.87m tall football legend is one of the most decorated Egyptian soccer players. He is one of Zamalek's football legends. He won several titles, including;

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• Egyptian Premier League 3x
• Egypt Cup 2x
• Egyptian Super Cup 2x
• CAF Champions League 1x
• African Cup 1x
• CAF Super Cup 1x
• Arab Champions trophy 1x
• Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup 1x

4. Hazem Emam

Emam, a former attacking midfielder in professional football, is now retired. When the 1996 African Cup of Nations began, Emam was in superb form. He was the best player for Egypt during the competition and one of the best rising stars.

He enjoyed four successful seasons, winning trophies and individual accolades with El Nady El Malaky before his form started to drop at the start of the 2005–06 season. The following are some of the trophies he bagged during that time:

• Egyptian Premier League 3x
• Egypt trophy 2x
• Egyptian Super trophy 2x
• CAF Champions League 2x
• CAF Super Cup 2x
• Arab Club Champions trophy 1x
• Saudi-Egyptian Super trophy 1x

3. Tarek Hamed

He is a professional footballer competing for the Egyptian national team and the Saudi Professional League club Al-Ittihad as a defensive midfielder. Hamed joined El Nady El Malaky in 2014 and quickly established himself as a key player, taking home ten national and international championships.

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Hamed finished as one of the three finalists at the 2019 CAF Awards for best African-based player after being nominated for the African Player of the Year award in 2017 and 2019.

2. Shikabala

When he was eight years old, Shikabala enrolled in Zamalek SC's development academy. He made his first team debut in a cup game in early 2002. Since then, he continued to play for the first team despite receiving little playing time and having no formal contract.

The player has played for El Nady El Malaky in three different spells. He was equally successful in all the spells. He most recently returned to the club in 2019 to end his exciting career in the club where he belongs. He has won 15 titles with the club.

1. Abdelwahed El Sayed

He is arguably the best goalkeeper in African football history. He was key for El Nady El Malaky and the Egypt National Football Team. The 45-year-old spent over 20 years of his life dedicated to the club. He made 504 appearances and remains one of the biggest Zamalek legends. He secured 15 titles with the club.

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The biggest Zamalek legends include Tarek Mohamed and Shikabala. These and many more are the players who had or are in the process of having a successful career for the Giza-based African club. The Egyptian club is one of the best in the continent, statistically.

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