ImagesPA; Getty ImagesThere were only 12 minutes to go in
Egypt’s 2006 Africa Cup of Nations semi-
final with Senegal, and a blazing row had
just erupted.
Hassan Shehata had taken the risky
decision to substitute his star striker. Now he
and Mido (above) were screaming at each
other on the touchline, in front of the world’s
cameras and a crowd of more than 74,000 in
Cairo. Only the intervention of 39-year-old
forward Hossam Hassan stopped the
remarkable confrontation from becoming
physical.
It could have been Shehata’s Maurizio Sarri
moment. Like goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga
in the 2019 League Cup final, one of his
players was in open revolt. It could have
signalled the beginning of the end for
Shehata as Pharaohs boss. Instead, it was
the end of the beginning.
Shehata, a one-time Asian Player of the
Year despite not being Asian, had been
under a lot of pressure as Egypt’s manager
going into that Africa Cup of Nations. The
moustachioed boss was given the job after
helping the under-20s secure the African
Youth Championship, before steering Al
Mokawloon of the second division to victory
in the Egyptian Cup. But results had not been
great prior to his first tournament as Egypt
coach, and rumours were growing that
a replacement was being lined up.
In that semi-final against Senegal, Shehata
did what could have been compared to
taking off Gary Lineker and introducing Alan
Smith. In place of Spurs’ Mido, he brought on
a young Amr Zaki, still plying his trade in the
Egyptian Premier League. Within two
minutes, Zaki had headed the winner. The
manager, still wound up by his altercation,
celebrated with enraged gesticulations. He’d
been right. Mido was soon banned for six
months and Egypt would go on to win the
Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, to
rapturous scenes in the capital.
Shehata followed that up two years later
by helping the Pharaohs lift the trophy again- this time in Ghana, in sub-Saharan Africa,
where Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations record
had been notoriously poor. Ivory Coast,
featuring Didier Drogba and the Toure
brothers, were thrashed 4-1 in the final four.
No country had ever won three Africa Cup
of Nations tournaments in succession. In
2010, Egypt’s side were said to be too old,
and there was surprise when Shehata
drafted unfancied forward Gedo into his
squad. Even the player was surprised.
However, he would finish as the
competition’s top scorer, bagging the winner
in the final as Egypt made history.
Shehata coached his country at three
Africa Cups of Nations, and he won them all.
By 2010, Egypt had climbed as high as ninth
in the FIFA rankings. After his departure, they
plummeted to 75th. Despite Mohamed
Salah’s emergence, they have not been
crowned African kings in five attempts since.
93
ANTONIO CONTE
Conte is a contradiction
of a manager. Icy cool in
interviews, he’s turbo-charged on
the touchline. His football is relentless, but
intelligent. And while his title triumphs in
Italy and England were formed on wing-
backs and high-octane attacking moves,
securing him a force-of-nature reputation,
he’s very astute. “He’s the best coach I ever
worked with,” said Andrea Pirlo. “He makes
you give your best at all times – so when he
loses, he’s a demon.”94
FERRUCCIO
VALCAREGGI
There’s no shame in losing
a World Cup final, especially when
it’s to a certain Brazil 1970 team; even so,
Italians felt that Valcareggi’s negative
tactics had cost them in Mexico City, and he
needed a police escort upon touching down
in Rome. Yet Valcareggi had reinvigorated
the Azzurri after their disastrous group-
stage exit at the 1966 World Cup – via
defeat to North Korea – and turned them
into European champions in 1968, making
some hard decisions en route.92
JUAN LOPEZ
FONTANA
Fontana was the first man
ever to make Brazil question their
footballing philosophy. In 1950, his
disciplined Uruguay side silenced the free-
scoring Selecao in one of the World Cup’s
great upsets, making a mockery of pre-
match headlines proclaiming Brazil as
champions and sending the hosts into a state
of Maracanazo mourning by identifying
weaknesses in their defensive setup.
Fontana later guided Uruguay to the 1954
semi-finals and also scooped two league
titles at Penarol.91
RAYMOND GOETHALS
With a trademark cigarette drooping
from his lips, Goethals was a
meticulous coach with the demeanour of a
detective. At Marseille the Belgian
immediately reached the 1991 European
Cup final, losing on penalties, then
triumphed two years later against Milan.
Subsequent Ligue 1 match-fixing revelations
rocked l’OM – Goethals was not involved –
but their manager’s work is too easily
neglected: a zonal marking pioneer and
maestro of the offside trap, he was a mind
ahead of his time.95 HASSAn SHEHATA
FourFourTwo.com The Managers 11GREATEST
MAn AGERS100