established in
1911 under the name of "Kasr El-Nil" and is currently based in
Giza (a suburb of
Cairo),
Egypt. It promotes numerous different sports for all ages. The most famous part of Zamalek Sporting Club is the
football team known as just
Zamalek. It is a leading club side in Egyptian, Arabian and African football. The team is the most crowned African teams with 5 Champions Leagues, 3 African Super Cups and 2 Afro-Asian Cups, a record not matched by any other club in Africa. Zamalek is the 1st African-Asian club to top the FIFA World Club Ranking (Feb, 2003). The team's trademark look is two horizontal red stripes on a white shirt.
The club has a fierce rivalry with its
Cairo rival
Al-Ahly.
Derby matches between teams of the two clubs are so fierce that foreign
referees are always asked to officiate them. The biggest result of these derbies was in 1944 when Zamalek defeated Al-Ahly 6-0 in the Egyptian Cup final.
[1][2] [7] [8] [9].
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[edit] HistoryThe history of the club goes back to 1911 when it was founded by the Belgian gentleman Merzbach as a rival to the British founded club
Al-Ahly. It was administrated mostly - as was the case at that time in Egyptian football - by foreign expatriates. The first football team in the club was formed in 1913. The team took part in domestic competitions along with Al-Ahly,
Al Seka AlHadid club, British army teams and school and college teams.
However at this time, an Egyptian player who had just returned from his studies in
Cambridge,
UK, named Hussien Hegazy established his own squad, that was named "Hegazy's Eleven" and started to rally with the British Army teams at that time. One of the British teams was a team named "Stanley's Team", that was formed by a British man named Stanley and was made up of a group of British soldiers who were stationed in Egypt. Both teams met twice, and in both matches, Hegazy's Eleven won. Excited by their symbolic resistance to the British, both Egyptian clubs Al-Ahly and Al-Zamalek sought to bring member's of "Hegazy's Eleven" to their squads. Hegazy joined
Al-Ahly, while the rest of his team mates joined Al-Zamalek. In
1919, Hegazy joined Al-Zamalek and the team became the most powerful team in Egyptian soccer at that time. He later rejoined Al-Ahly in 1924.
In 1916, the idea of establishing a league in the sultanate of Egypt at that time, where Egyptian teams plays with teams from the allies' military clubs, including the British was getting more developed. Al-Zamalek was the first and only Egyptian club to participate in 1916. In 1917 Al-Ahly followed Zamalek's footsteps and took part. Both Al-Zamalek and Al-Ahly also agreed on creating their own two-game competition, the first was on
9 October 1917, which Al-Zamalek lost at home 0&ndash1, and the second was on
2 March 1917 which Al-Zamalek won on Al-Ahly's turf 1–0.
A Belgian Lawyer and former judge in the "Mixed Courts" named Merzbach became the first President of the club under the name "The Diverse Club" or "Mokhtalat". It is believed the club got this name due to the fact that the club promoted diversity and was a place where Europeans and Egyptians meet to socialize and practice sports. Some also say that the club was initially built for the Belgian community in face of the British existence.
In
1930, the club's 60 member board met and decided to expel the foreign members of the club. Al-Zamalek continued its glory days, winning many titles. The most impressive result was winning against Al-Ahly (6 -0).
[3][4] The club changed its name from
Al-Mokhtalat to "Farouk". After the
1952 Revolution, the club name was finally changed to "Al-Zamalek".
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[edit] Name Changes
- Kasr El-Nil : (1911-1913)
- Al-Mokhtalat Club : (1913-1941)
- Farouk Club : (1941-1952)
- Nadi Al Zamalek : since 1952
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[edit] SupportersIt is widely believed that Zamalek is the club of choice of Egyptian free-thinkers, those who have a propensity for supporting the underdog, and Egypt's aristocratic class.
[6] Zamalek have been known to have a large following, being second only to Al Ahly in fan support. Zamalek fans have been largely known as a club supported by aristocrats and the upper class, whereas Al Ahly have traditionally been supported by the working class. Nowadays, these stereotypes exist to a lesser degree since Al Ahly now have some rich and influential fans, and Zamalek have now been gaining large support from lower-class areas as well.
Recently fans have been seen to protest against Ahmad Shobair and other members of the Egyptian FA due to decisions that Shobair and co. have made including the suspension of Shikabala and Ahmed Ghanem Sultan from the national team. They were suspended for "not co-operating with their team mates" during the African Olympics 2007 in Algeria. Another decision that has invoked the ire of fans was the large fine given to Amr Zaki for allegedly insulting an opponent. Shikabala has been fined and suspended by the Egyptian FA as well as the Zamalek board due to his violent reactions to taunts during the 100th Cairo derby.
Zamalek fans have two nicknames for the Red Devils of Al Ahly which are Al Gahly, literally the ignorants, and Hala, a woman's name which sounds similar to Ahly.
موضوع: تاريخ نادي الزمالك باللغة الانجليزية 
الخميس نوفمبر 08, 2007 11:40 am