By Ruba Hattar
If there is anything that Egyptians have considered as the most priceless gift for their team in the African Cup of Nations that just concluded, in addition to a great team led by legend Mohamed Salah, it is the new super hero goalkeeper Abu Gabal, or as his shirt says Gabaski.
As Africa News beautifully put it, "Mohamed Abou Gabal of Cairo club Zamalek was a late starter but he quickly took the spotlight, almost eclipsing superstar Mohamed Salah for a moment, by saving the penalties that separated the Pharaohs and their Cameroonian hosts 3-1."
For the Egyptians, and many Arabs who had only one team left in the African semi-finals, Mohamed Abu Gabal is "the great dam," named after the country's largest structure in Aswan, which provides 102 million Egyptians with much of their irrigation and electricity, the magazine added.
Although Egypt lost to Senegal in the final, he still managed to block two penalties, one at the start of the match by Mane, Salah's teammate in Liverpool, who carried the AFCON trophy for his team. Abu Gabal was named man of the match beyond a doubt while in tears for his team.
Gabaski was included in the Egypt squad for AFCON 2021 (held in 2022). He was brought on as a substitute in Egypt's round of 16 Clash with Ivory Coast. He saved Eric Bailly's penalty, helping Egypt advance. In the quarterfinal against Cameroon, Gabaski started the match before being substituted in extra time, helping Egypt reach the final.
As this new star managed to move from the substitute deck to block incredible shots by great African players who play in leading teams like Liverpool, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Paris St. Germain, many great international clubs will start keeping an eye on Gabaski.
