• Mohamed Aboutrika joined Al Ahly in 2004

• Aboutrika helped the club win two Champions League titles within his first three years

• The forward assisted Egypt in their 2006 and 2008 continental conquests

Akshat Mehrish Mohamed Aboutrika was a late bloomer in footballing terms. Born in Giza, the attacker spent seven years of his early football career, since his debut aged 17, playing for local side Tersana. Still raw, yet, a commanding presence both in terms of his talent and influence, Aboutrika helped Tersana escape the Egyptian second division and consolidate their position in the first in the years preceding his prime. Satisfied with his performances and burgeoning talent, Egypt called Aboutrika for a senior appearance in 2001. Three years later, Al Ahly came knocking on his door. Aboutrika joined forces with Al Ahly in 2004. One of the giants of African football, the ever-so-frequent conquerors of the Egyptian footballing pyramid were amid a lull when the Giza native arrived at the club. Al Ahly needed individuals who could make a difference when it mattered most; Mohamed Aboutrika needed a club to sustain him in his prime, having spent much of his developing years away from the limelight. As it proved in retrospect, it was a match made in heaven.

The attacker joined Al Ahly midway through the 2003/04 season from Tersana. In his first few months at the club, he scored 11 goals in 13 appearances, a sensational return, albeit not enough to propel the giants to the first position in the league. Rivals Zamalek won the contest that year, but Al Ahly exacted revenge the season after when they reclaimed the domestic crown after four years in the wilderness. Aboutrika proved influential in their quest, as he did in the team’s CAF Champions League triumph in 2005, the first since 2001. Al Ahly beat Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel in the continental final, with Aboutrika opening the scoring in the crucial 3-0 second-leg result that led them to victory. Thus began his dalliance with the competition. Aboutrika’s game-changing displays for Al Ahly put him back on Egypt’s notice. The attacker had debuted for the national team in 2001, but his first appearance for the North African giants would be his only showing for three years until he returned to the set-up in 2004. Two years later, when the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations arrived, Mohamed Aboutrika was a significant cog in an already well-oiled Egyptian machine.

Egypt won the continental crown in 2006, with Aboutrika scoring twice in the regular tournament and converting the winning penalty kick in the final against Ivory Coast. With his first AFCON gold medal hung around his neck, the Giza native returned home and immediately assisted Al Ahly to their second successive CAF Champions League title.

Having grown more significant to his team’s prospects between the two finals, Aboutrika scored eight all tournament, including two in the ultimate 2-1 win over CS Sfaxien. The attacker netted the opening goal of the 1-1 first-leg tie and the winner in the 92nd minute of the reverse fixture. Mohamed Aboutrika capped 2006 by adding the Egyptian domestic league and cup to his trophy cabinet to go with the AFCON and CAF Champions League titles and a third-place finish at the FIFA Club World Cup. He finished second in the year-end poll for the continent’s best player. An injury-hit season derailed some of Aboutrika’s momentum in 2007, but he picked up the pieces on the other side of his troubles, helping Al Ahly reclaim and Egypt retain their continental crowns. He especially shone on the international stage, scoring four times in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, a tally which included his winner against Cameroon in the final.

Al Ahly won seven straight league titles between 2004/05 and 2010/11, with Aboutrika being a significant contributor to the silverware. While his and his team’s domestic collection stopped in 2011, they continued to dominate the continental scene, winning two more titles in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, Aboutrika’s penultimate professional season before his retirement from football, the forward proved that he had lost none of his abilities to turn a tie on its head despite his waning powers. His treble against Stade Malien in the second qualifying round after coming on as a first-half substitute at a juncture in the second leg when Al Ahly were trailing 2-0 proved the same. Mohamed Aboutrika scored six in Al Ahly’s 2012 Champions League win and five when they retained the title the following year, including two over the two finals in a 3-1 victory. He retired in the aftermath with five continental and two international crowns.