Ahmed Hegazi
Ahmed Elsayed Ali Elsayed Hegazy (; born 25 January 1991), simply known as Ahmed Hegazi, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad, and the Egypt national team. Hegazi has represented the senior Egyptian national team since 2011, during this period his only absences from the squad have been due to injury. He has represented Egypt in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, 2011 African U-20 Championship, 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2017 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In 2017 , he was included in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations CAF Team of the tournament due to his impressive performances. Club career. Ismaily. Hegazi's professional playing career began on 24 November 2009, when he made his debut with Egyptian Premier League club Ismaily playing as a full back. Fiorentina. On 22 December 2011, the Egyptian club announced having made a deal with Italian side Fiorentina, in exchange for €1.5 million. The Egyptian company received a 15% sell on fee. Hegazi was given the number 3 shirt at Fiorentina. He made his unofficial debut for the club playing 30  minutes in a friendly against Viareggio. On 18 November 2012, he played 15 minutes in his official debut against Atalanta, and scored his first goal for La Viola later that month in the second half of a Coppa Italia match against Juve Stabia on 28 November. On 12 December, Fiorentina announced that Hegazi had completed a surgery after sustaining a severe leg injury in training. The club also announced that he had undergone reconstructive surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament. The expected recovery period before the player could return to sports activity was 5–6 months. In September 2013 he suffered  another blow as he had injured the same ligament again in training and took him out for 6 months making him miss most of the season. On 8 December 2014, Fiorentina announced that the player would be released in January 2015, along with Octávio, Mounir El Hamdaoui, Oleksandr Iakovenko and Joshua Brillante. Perugia loan. On 2 February 2015, Hegazi joined Serie B side Perugia on loan for the rest of 2014–15 Serie B. He made his debut for the club in a 3–1 loss to Vicenza playing the whole 90 minutes. It was his first complete match in Italy. Al  Ahly SC. On 1 September 2015, Hegazi joined Egyptian Premier League side Al Ahly of Cairo on a five-year contract. West Bromwich Albion. On 17 July 2017, Hegazi joined Premier League side West Bromwich Albion on loan from Al Ahly until the end of the 2017–18 season, with Albion holding an option to trigger a permanent transfer. Hegazi made his Premier League debut for West Brom on 12 August, scoring a headed goal in a 1–0 win against AFC Bournemouth and winning the man of the match award. In the following match he received the award for the second  time in a row, as West Brom defeated hosts Burnley and made their best start to a top flight campaign since the 1978–79 season. On 18 December 2017, West Brom exercised the option to sign Hegazi on a permanent basis. In July 2019, after undergoing ankle surgery, it was announced that he would miss the first few weeks of the 2019–20 season. Al-Ittihad (loan). On 26 October 2020, Hegazi joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad on loan from West Bromwich Albion until the end of the 2020–21 season. International career. Hegazi made his international debut with the senior  Egypt national team in an away game against Sierra Leone in 2011 when he was only 20 years and 7 months old. Ever since, he has been a regular in the national team and has only missed games due to injury. In December 2016 Héctor Cúper, the Egypt national football team coach, included him in the squad to compete in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Hegazi was a regular in the back four during the tournament, playing every single minute and displaying a solid performance as the Egyptians went all the way to the final. His performance earned him  an inclusion in the CAF Team of the tournament. On 17 November 2020, during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Hegazi captained the Egypt national team for the first time, playing 90 minutes in a 1–3 away win against Togo. Honours. Al Ahly Egypt Individual