On this day, October 13, 2000, Hossam Ghaly, then a rising player for Al Ahly, scored his first goal for the club against Senegal’s Jeanne d’Arc in the fourth round of the CAF Champions League. Al Ahly won 3-1 at Cairo Stadium, with goals from Ibrahim Said (penalty), Alaa Ibrahim, and the 19-year-old Ghaly finishing the scoring. At the time, Al Ahly was coached by Mokhtar Mokhtar after the departure of Rainer Zobel and the arrival of Dixie.

The captain managed to etch his name in golden letters among the legends of Al Ahly football club. Throughout his career, both with Al Ahly and during his professional journey abroad, he was a role model for leadership and courageous performance on the field.

Hossam Ghaly played for six clubs during his career: Al Ahly, Dutch club Feyenoord, English clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Derby County, Saudi club Al-Nassr, and Belgian club Lierse.

He won 13 titles with Al Ahly, including the Egyptian Premier League (2010/2011, 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018), Egyptian Super Cup (2010, 2014, 2015), Egypt Cup (2003, 2017), CAF Champions League (2001, 2012), CAF Confederation Cup (2014), and CAF Super Cup (2002).

Born on December 15, 1981, Ghaly began playing at Bella Club before joining Al Ahly’s youth team and later the first team. He started his professional career at Feyenoord, then moved to Tottenham Hotspur, followed by a loan to Derby County in the English second division. He then played three seasons at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia before returning to Al Ahly as team captain and later returning to Al-Nassr in 2017.

Ghaly earned 55 caps for the Egyptian national team, debuting in 2002, and participated in the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004 and 2010, winning the latter.

He joined Feyenoord in 2003 until 2006, then played for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League from 2006 to 2009, including a loan to Derby County. His famous controversy involved throwing his Tottenham jersey on the ground after being substituted by coach Martin Jol shortly after being brought on.

He moved to Al-Nassr after a dispute with Tottenham fans following his jersey incident with coach Martin Jol. He won the African Champions League in 2001 and the African Super Cup in 2002 with Al Ahly.

His last match was on May 11, 2018, between Al Ahly and Ajax Amsterdam in the UAE, with Al Ahly winning.

Ghaly officially retired from football in May 2018, with a testimonial match against Ajax at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in the UAE, which Al Ahly won 1-0. He started playing for Al Ahly in 2000 and retired in 2018.

After retirement, Ghaly became the football director of El Gouna FC, leading the team to good results before deciding to leave.

He was appointed by the Egyptian President to the House of Representatives in January 2021 as a prominent sports figure with a significant impact on the sports sector and a clear mark in Egyptian football with both Al Ahly and the national team.

He ran for the Al Ahly board elections and won a seat in November 2021 with 19,223 votes, the third highest in the council.