Akram Tawfik, Al Ahly’s football first team player, sat with us in a long interview to reflect about the past season and talk about his future goals with the team.
Tawfik, who recently recovered from the ACL injury which he picked up earlier this year, expressed his happiness to be back to training and talked about our new coach, Marcel Koller.
Recovering from his injury…
“I’m very happy to return back to training. I’ll do my best to be a great addition to the team. I know people have great trust in my abilities, and hopefully I’ll be up to their expectations.”
“Hamdy Fathy and Amr El Soulia in particular have been really supportive to me during the time of my injury.”
Last season's performance...
“It’s normal to have ups and downs, that’s completely normal in football. We didn’t achieve the results that our fans wanted in the last season, but hopefully the next season will be completely different. I focus mainly on the pitch and try not be distracted mainly by the social media.”
New coach…
“Mr. Koller has a lot of team talks with us. He also checked on my condition several times. He’s very good in man management and knows how to treat people outside of football. On the pitch, he’s very focused and serious. I wish all the best of luck to my teammates. At the end of the day, we are representing a big club like Al Ahly.”
On being called Mufasa…
“I like being called Mufasa. Former coach, Pitso used to tell me that I have a lot in common with Mufasa. I’ve watched Lion King and I really like his character. So, I’m very happy to be called Mufasa.”
Future ambitions…
“We will do our best to win the CAF Champions League. We’ve been to the last three finals and won two out of the three. The Egyptian League also has been very tough. We have more than one team competing on the title but we will do our best to win it as well.”
Final message…
“Finally, I hope to return back to my best shape. I have great ambitions with the team. I would like to thank our fans for their constant support, especially during the time of my injury."
