Ahmed Elmohamady interview: ‘Elmo’ loving life at Hull City

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • When Hull City manager Steve Bruce approached his old club Sunderland last August looking to borrow Ahmed Elmohamady, the Egyptian international had a tough decision to make.

    He was out of favour under then manager Martin O’Neill, but linking up with Bruce again meant dropping out of the Premier League and into the Championship.

    Yet nine months later, the 25-year-old could not feel more vindicated. He is on the verge of signing a permamanent deal with the Tigers having won the club’s Player of the Year award in a season that culminated in promotion back to the top-flight after a breathless final day draw with champions Cardiff City.

    “We’ve worked hard all year to earn this promotion,” Elmohamady told Sport360 during a short vacation in Dubai. “It was a risk for me to move from the Premier League to the Championship but I talked to Steve Bruce, he is the one who brought me to England from Egypt, and he promised me that if I join Hull, I can help them get promoted to the Premier League.

    “He told me ‘don’t worry, it’s not a risky move. If this was too risky for you I wouldn’t advise you to come’.

    “So it was a very good thing for me to play with a coach who knows me and understands my capabilities.”

    Validated

    And there was no greater validation of his ability than in winning the club’s best player award, something Elmohamady says made up for a tough spell at Sunderland before his switch to the KC Stadium.

    “I was very happy to win it because it kind of compensated for a rough season with Sunderland where I feel that I was unfairly treated,” he explained. “The coach (O’Neill) perhaps heard some things, chose certain players and dropped others, and I was unjustly sidelined in the process.

    “But this season I was very focused and God rewarded me with this promotion and with the Player of the Year award. So it was an exceptional season for me.”

    It is no coincidence that his form improved under Bruce’s guidance, a manager with a history of signing Egyptian players.

    “Steve is a very respectable man, always asks about the players, checks on their personal lives, their problems, their families,” Elmohamady added. “When I first met up with him, he told me ‘I have had experiences with Egyptian players like Amr Zaki and Mido, who are good players, but in terms of mentality, you have to do better. To stay here, you have to be disciplined.

    “If you are 50 per cent a good player and 50 per cent disciplined it’s better for me than being 90 per cent talented and 10 per cent disciplined’. I took those words and now have them engraved on my brain.

    “When my team-mates at Sunderland heard I was moving to Hull and will reunite with Steve they were joking with me and telling me I was returning to my ‘father’.”

    Disciplined

    At Hull, Elmohamady is a significant part of a wider Egyptian theme, with the club owned by Cairo-born businessman Assem Allam and him joined in the squad by compatriots Mohamed Nagy “Gedo” and Ahmed Fathi, who were signed on loan from Al Ahly.

    “One of the reasons I am still in England is that I learnt from the previous experiences of my fellow Egyptians and chose to emulate the positive stuff rather than the negative,” explained Elmohamady. “I’m hoping to continue on this path and improve as well.

    “I learnt to be disciplined in every aspect of life, not just on the pitch.”

    With it looking ever more likely he will remain with Hull for the 2013/14 season, the former ENPPI player thinks regular football will help him nail down his place for the national team. Egypt have made their best ever start to a World Cup qualifying campaign having won all three matches so far and Elmohamady is dreaming of being part of the first Egyptian squad to reach the tournament since 1990.

    “Next season is going to be even more important for me than the last one because I will have World Cup qualifiers with the national team and then hopefully the World Cup,” he said. “I am a regular with the national team at the moment but I need to be playing regularly with my club because that is a big factor that can ensure my selection for Egypt.

    “It’s true that the dream is closer than it has ever been. People are sensing that we’re closer but in reality we still have our work cut out for us.”

    Recently married and with a baby on the way, Elmohamady is in a good place right now. He adds: “I feel calm and comfortable and once you’re emotionally and mentally comfortable off the pitch, this is reflected on the pitch.”

    QUICK HITS WITH ELMOHAMADY

    Barca or Real? Real

    Maradona or Pele? Pele

    Messi or Ronaldo? Ronaldo

    Ahly or Zamalek? Ahly

    Federer or Nadal? Nadal

    Best team-mate? Abou-Treika & Cicinho

    Toughest player faced? Ashley Cole

    READ MORE:

    Elmohamady backs fellow Egyptian to star in Premier League

    * For breaking news, follow us on @Sport_360 or find us on Facebook

    Recommended