I've seen some bad, some horrible, penalty kicks over the years, but this one "taken" by Amir Sayoud, an Algerian striker playing for Al Ahly in Egypt, during this recent match between Al Ahly and Kima Aswan in the Egyptian Cup. Thankfully for Sayoud, who received a yellow card for this bit of, shall we say, stage fright, his team won the match 4-0, and it seems unlikely that his performance had anything to do with the clashes between police and Al Ahly supporters after the match.

I've seen some bad, some horrible, penalty kicks over the years, but this one "taken" by Amir Sayoud, an Algerian striker playing for Al Ahly in Egypt, during this recent match between Al Ahly and Kima Aswan in the Egyptian Cup. Thankfully for Sayoud, who received a yellow card for this bit of, shall we say, stage fright, his team won the match 4-0, and it seems unlikely that his performance had anything to do with the clashes between police and Al Ahly supporters after the match.

Keeping goal is former Guatemalan international Edgar Estrada. He picked up 80 caps for the national side between 1995 and 2003. A back four of Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast and Arsenal), Erik Edman (Sweden and Helsingborg), Emad El-Nahhas (Egypt and Al-Ahly) and Nigerian Eric Ejiofor.

While the protests in Egypt have subsided from their peak last week, hardy anti-Mubarak protesters still occupy Tahrir Square in the capital, Cairo. While the world was enraptured with images broadcast by organizations able to avoid the secret police, such as Al-Jazeera, what effect did the protests have on football in the country?

An African online news source All Africa.com is reporting that the Secretary General of the Sports Writers Association of Liberia, Roland Mulbah, was attacked by three players from the Liberian National team on May 31, 2011.

According to the paper:

The players, Anthony Laffor of Super Sports United in South Africa, Francis "Grandpa" Doe of Egypt's Al-Ahly, and goalkeeper Louis Crayton of the Minnesota Thunder (was actually a former Minnesota Stars player) in the U.

Cotonsport are champions of Cameroon again

Two of Africa's top football championships have been decided in the past few days with Cotonsport maintaining their stranglehold of the Cameroonian domestic game whilst Al Ahly did likewise in Egypt.

Cotonsport, from the north Cameroonian city of Garoua, sealed their tenth league title in fifteen seasons with a 2-1 win against fourth place Unisport Bafang.

Cotonsport are champions of Cameroon again

Two of Africa's top football championships have been decided in the past few days with Cotonsport maintaining their stranglehold of the Cameroonian domestic game whilst Al Ahly did likewise in Egypt.

Cotonsport, from the north Cameroonian city of Garoua, sealed their tenth league title in fifteen seasons with a 2-1 win against fourth place Unisport Bafang.

Regardless of where played, a proper derby stokes supporters' passions, incites vitriol to be spewed irrationally, and at times can pluck raw nerves to a bleeding point. If today's player, often unattached or deeply affiliated with a club enough to identify with a rivalry match, actually buys in to this emotion and puts it into his play on the pitch, the results can run the gamut from being something of legend to looking brutish and petty.

Despite the lack of winners and losers in the opening round of matches in the CAF Champions League group stages this weekend there was still plenty to shout about. The CAF Confederation Cup, Africa's second-tier competition, almost followed suit with two of this weekend's four matches ending in a stalemate.

African football's two main club competitions have reached the halfway stage in the group phase. Two teams continue to dominate in Group A of the CAF Champions League whilst Group B is a more competitive affair. In the CAF Confederation Cup things remain tight in both groups and there is no team who has yet laid down a marker for the rest of the tournament.

Amir Sayoud Penalty Miss Video September 2011- Egypt- Al Ahly vs Kima Aswan- Worst Missed Penalty? is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Amir Sayoud Penalty Miss Video September 2011- Egypt- Al Ahly vs Kima Aswan- Worst Missed Penalty? is a post from Soccer Blogger.

Dirk Kuyt penalty miss vs Everton Video 2011- Howard penalty save is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Dirk Kuyt penalty miss vs Everton Video 2011- Howard penalty save is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter This Dirk Kuyt penalty miss vs Everton denied Liverpool an opportunity to go ahead in the Merseyside derby between the two sides on Saturday, October 1, 2011.

Today is a celebration to all of the people in Libya by the death of one of the worst criminals, not just in Libya, but in the whole Middle East. I remember once, I heard a historian describing him as craziest leader ever been in the Arab world in several hundreds of years. As I join celebration with the rest of world, I share few stories I heard either from TV, or read about them, on Gaddhafi family madness and crimes in football:
- 1982: Libya organized African Nations Cup, and Libyan team did the best in their history, reaching the final, only to lose to Ghana by penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie.

Mais um jogo amistoso foi realizado no dia 17/11/2010, na cidade de Cairo-EGY, no Cairo International Stadium, jogaram as seleções do Egito (10º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da Austrália (21º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Mundial Sub-20
1991Guimaraes 20/06/1991 AUS1:0 (1:0)EGY First stage
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Anton Genov-BUL
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Ahmed Abd El-Zaher, aos 29 minutos do primeiro tempo, jogador do ENPPI-EGY, que marcou seu primeiro gol pela seleção nacional.

There were several interesting reports this week about the fact that some of the best organized and most effective groups involved in the protests in Egypt came from what some saw as a surprising place: football fan groups. As a report on Gawker noted: "When asked about the role of political groups in organizing protests, prominent Egyptian blogger Alaa abd El-Fatah told Al Jazeera .

There are very few moments so transcendental in a lifetime. Today is one of them as Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt after 30 years of despotic rule. Bowing to an unprecedented show of people power. It is a revolution that promises the rise of a truly representative democracy and carries the potential of a more balanced vision of Middle East peace.

African club football gets very little coverage in Europe so I thought it would be interesting to delve into this little known world for another blogpost.

On Saturday the East African club cup begins in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Twelve clubs from ten African nations compete for the coveted trophy.

Mais um jogo das Eliminatórias das eliminatórias da CAF 2012, foi realizada no dia 05/06/2011, na cidade de Paynesville-LBA, no Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium, onde jogaram as seleções da Libéria (157º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção de Cabo Verde (79º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Praia 26/03/2011 CPV4:2 (3:1)LBR Group matches2002Monrovia 15/07/2000 LBR3:0 (1:0)CPV First round2002Praia 02/07/2000 CPV1:0LBR First round
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Koman Coulibaly-MLI
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Francis Doe, aos 44 minutos do primeiro tempo, ele que é jogador do Al-Ahly-EGY, sendo seu segundo gol pela seleção nacional.

Mais um jogo das Eliminatórias das eliminatórias da CAF 2012, foi realizada no dia 05/06/2011, na cidade de Paynesville-LBA, no Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium, onde jogaram as seleções da Libéria (157º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção de Cabo Verde (79º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Praia 26/03/2011 CPV4:2 (3:1)LBR Group matches2002Monrovia 15/07/2000 LBR3:0 (1:0)CPV First round2002Praia 02/07/2000 CPV1:0LBR First round
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Koman Coulibaly-MLI
O primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Francis Doe, aos 44 minutos do primeiro tempo, ele que é jogador do Al-Ahly-EGY, sendo seu segundo gol pela seleção nacional.

The semi-final places have yet to be decided in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup and with four of the six matchdays completed it seems likely that the next round of games will be the most important played in this year's competitions so far.

Group A could've seen Nigerians Enyimba FC (4 games, 8 points) seal their place in the last four at the weekend but they were held to a goalless draw away at bottom club Raja Casablanca who gained only their second point of the campaign.

Are these the worst penalties ever?

If Rob Earnshaw wants something to cheer him up, here's a new contender for an ever-popular Mirror Football category: Our ongoing search for the worst penalty kick ever. The hapless culprit is Amir Sayoud of Al Ahly and... well, you've just got to watch and marvel.

The problem is all of those follies dubbed the 'worst ever' seems to have at least a bit of merit. Amir Sayoud of Al Ahly is on the list, and you're going to see a lot of him in the coming days. Almost all of it will involve the prone position and a meal of grass.

At least he can laugh about it, though.

The problem is all of those follies dubbed the 'worst ever' seems to have at least a bit of merit. Amir Sayoud of Al Ahly is on the list, and you're going to see a lot of him in the coming days. Almost all of it will involve the prone position and a meal of grass.

At least he can laugh about it, though.

Chamado a converter um castigo máximo, o avançado argelino Amir Sayoud, jogador dos egípcios do Al-Ahly treinados por Manuel José, decidiu inventar e fez "figura de urso".... O melhor mesmo é verem...

Al-Ahly did what they were expected to do in the Round of 32 of the Egyptian Cup on Tuesday night as they swept aside the challenge of Kima Aswan, winning the game by four goals to nil. The game will forever be famous, however, for this dreadful penalty by Al Ahly's Amir Sayoud. Following his embarrassing effort the player was shown a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct but I guess it's best to try these things when you're already 4-0 ahead with just minutes of the contest remaining.

Al-Ahly did what they were expected to do in the Round of 32 of the Egyptian Cup on Tuesday night as they swept aside the challenge of Kima Aswan, winning the game by four goals to nil. The game will forever be famous, however, for this dreadful penalty by Al Ahly's Amir Sayoud. Following his embarrassing effort the player was shown a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct but I guess it's best to try these things when you're already 4-0 ahead with just minutes of the contest remaining.

I don't suppose the last 32 stage of the Egyptian Cup generally generates all that much international interest. Other than the fact that this season's tournament had been significantly delayed (due to the popular uprising in the country), this season's competition looked to be nothing particularly special.

The Arab Spring seems to have have had a liberating effect on penalty taking. This is Amir Sayoud's PK for Egyptian side Al Ahly which looks like he was attempting a paradinha (a Brazilian stutter step) but instead falls flat on his face. To add insult he received a yellow card and lots of counseling from opposing side Kima Aswan who were losing 0-4.

This must be amongst the funniest Penalty fails of all time, as Amir Sayoud of Egypt giants Al Ahly makes a fool of himself before receiving a yellow card in doing so.

Feint and fluff Al Ahly's Amir Sayoud pays the price for being too clever in what's an early candidate for Most Abysmal Penalty of the season. His feint-and-fluff routine clearly displeases the referee who gives him a yellow card for the baulk, and presumably his gaffer wasn't too impressed either. Eat dirt, sucker!

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Subscribe: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

In this week's review section, success in Europe for the big teams as they march towards the European finals in Poland and the Ukraine in 2012, while Wales let England off the hook.

Some very funny recent stuff, if you have not seen them yet,
The penalty by Al-Ahly from Egypt. Al-Ahli was winning 4-0 anyhow, and the ref gave him a yellow card assuming the player mocked the keeper. I don't think he meant it, it seems a pure accident.
Somehow the funny penalties are linked to Arab teams.

Just like walking in your grandparents making out, this one is going to get real ugly real fast.As some of you may remember, Switzerland's FC Sion had illegally lured Egyptian keeper Essam El-Hadary away from Al-Ahly in 2008 while still under contract and had been subsequently punished. Part of that punishment is no player transfers may play for the club in competition.

Wayne Rooney, Amir Sayoud and Diana Ross: Are these the worst penalties ever?

Wayne Rooney tried his best to get into our 'worst penalty ever' parade with his glaring miss on Sunday against Chelsea. But he's got some work to do if he's going to beat any of these jokers and sneak into the top 10.

Supporters of Al-Ahly (Egyptian Premier League) following their capo:

I've seen some bad, some horrible, penalty kicks over the years, but this one "taken" by Amir Sayoud, an Algerian striker playing for Al Ahly in Egypt, during this recent match between Al Ahly and Kima Aswan in the Egyptian Cup. Thankfully for Sayoud, who received a yellow card for this bit of, shall we say, stage fright, his team won the match 4-0, and it seems unlikely that his performance had anything to do with the clashes between police and Al Ahly supporters after the match.

I've seen some bad, some horrible, penalty kicks over the years, but this one "taken" by Amir Sayoud, an Algerian striker playing for Al Ahly in Egypt, during this recent match between Al Ahly and Kima Aswan in the Egyptian Cup. Thankfully for Sayoud, who received a yellow card for this bit of, shall we say, stage fright, his team won the match 4-0, and it seems unlikely that his performance had anything to do with the clashes between police and Al Ahly supporters after the match.

Bob Bradlehotep, the new coach of the Pharaohs

The former USMNT coach signs a two year contract that will see him coach Egypt till the end of the 2014 World Cup.

Hassan Shehata who had coached The Pharaohs to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles departed after the team was unable to qualify for next year's ACN.

This is a part2 and last of these two posts where I am sharing some of the great old goals, mostly not that famous, or over consumed by media or clips. Don't expect to watch a typical Maradona or Pele goal, but something really rare that you might never seen. Non WC goals are here. All goals are historical, meaning they are at least 20 years old (1991 season or before).

Some big stars keep playing till their impact on the game fades away slowly overtime. Maradona, Romario, Bebeto, Peter Shilton are some examples. I remember Lothar Matthaus in an interview stating that one of the mistakes he did in his career was to play too late for the national side, especially the Euro 2000 when Germany had paled appearance and linked to his name.