Championship: Barnsley sign Mido on a year long deal

Egypt international Ahmed ‘Mido’ Hossam has been signed by Championship side Barnsley on a one year deal after Egyptian giants Zamalek offloaded the 29-year old former Tottenham and Middlesborough player last month. The well travelled footballer who played for Gent, Ajax, Celta Vigo, Marseille, Roma, Tottenham, Middlesborough, West Ham and Wigan hopes to attract the attention of national team boss Bob Bradley in a bid to earn an international call up having last played for the country in 2009. Mido’s signing is the third productive transfer for the Yorkshire club after attaining the services of midfielder Kelvin Etuhu from Portsmouth early in June on a free transfer. The club has also signed former Chelsea youngster Jacob Mellis on a two-year deal.

MARSEILLE, FRANCE – MARCH 25: Harry Kewell of Liverpool holds off a challenge from Ahmed Hossam Mido of Marseille during the UEFA Cup Fourth Round match between Marseille and Liverpool at The Velodrome on March 25, 2004 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Mido had been in the thick of various controversies surrounding his participation in the national team. Former coach Hassan Shehata vowed never to pick Mido in his team after coming head to head over various issues. In the 2006 African Cup of Nations semi-final against Senegal, Mido reacted angrily to Shehata’s decision to take him off and the duo never got on with each other since then. But with Shehata gone and Bob Bradley coming in to take over the Pharaohs in Cairo, Mido hopes that he can impress the American coach with regular football at Oakwell. In an interview to BBC Sport, Mido was quoted as saying,

“Hopefully coming to Barnsley and playing regular football and scoring goals will get me back in the national team. We have a very important period coming up with the qualifiers for the World Cup and hopefully being involved in the World Cup.”

Bob Bradley himself has singled out Mido for special praise, terming the former Marseille hitman as a fantastic player but who needs to lose considerable weight and start playing regular football before being considered for an international recall. It seems Mido has a hell lot of work to do in the coming season. The player himself has admitted that leaving Zamalek for the second tier of English football is a result of a serious rethink on his part to don national team colours once again after years of dealing with fitness issues and ego problems with former coach Hassan Shehata.

Mido told Sky Sports, “I think everyone knows England has the best football in the world and the best league.

“I have played in France, Holland, Italy and Spain and the best league for the way I play is England. I still have a lot of friends here.

“The Championship is a tough competition – harder than people think – but hopefully I can help.

“And with some new signings here we could have a good team. It will be hard work but we could do well and get ourselves in a good position in the table.”