32 Facts About Mohamed Zidan

Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Zidan is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Mohamed Zidan was born in Port Said to an Egyptian family.

Mohamed Zidan's career started as a striker for his hometown club El Masry in 1998.

Mohamed Zidan was scouted by the Danish Superliga club Akademisk Boldklub while he was juggling a ball at a Danish park in 1999.

Mohamed Zidan went on to score nine goals in 26 appearances, seven as a substitute for Mainz.

However, after a trail of injuries, Mohamed Zidan was on the receiving end of less playing time.

Mohamed Zidan scored six goals in the first 5 matches with his new club, catapulting the team from last, to 10th place on 1 March 2007 with 27 points.

Mohamed Zidan earned a man of the match award when he dribbled past Philipp Lahm and scored against Oliver Kahn.

Whilst loaned to Mainz, Mohamed Zidan scored a goal against the club he was contracted to, Werder Bremen, in 14 seconds.

Mohamed Zidan stated that he wanted to play for Barcelona within the next three years to play alongside Brazilian sensation Ronaldinho or Liverpool to play with Steven Gerrard.

However, Mohamed Zidan's work was noticed by number of top established clubs based in Spain, France and England as well as German champions VfB Stuttgart.

On 3 June 2007, Mohamed Zidan passed a medical and thereby completed his move to HSV.

Mohamed Zidan said that he always wanted a move to the north-German club, because he still has many ties to Denmark.

Mohamed Zidan was handed the number 7 shirt, a number previously worn by Hamburger SV prized player and Iranian captain, Mehdi Mahdavikia.

Mohamed Zidan proved himself as a capable striker and could adjust to the new team in friendly games, often scoring when substituted or scoring four goals when he played the full game.

Mohamed Zidan scored his first official goal for Hamburger SV in the away DFB-Pokal match versus Holstein Kiel.

Mohamed Zidan however proved himself as a dangerous striker and playmaker, as he was brought on as a substitute against Bavarian giants Bayern Munich in the 74th minute.

Mohamed Zidan scored his first Bundesliga goal for HSV in the 87th minute, with the goal bearing a lot of significance as it ended Bayern's early undefeated run in the competition and was the first goal that Oliver Kahn had conceded up until then and was the third goal that Mohamed Zidan has scored against Bayern during his years in the Bundesliga.

On 17 April 2010, Mohamed Zidan suffered an injury in his knee that prevented him from playing for almost 6 months.

On 31 January 2012, Mohamed Zidan left Borussia Dortmund and signed a new contract with his former club Mainz.

Mohamed Zidan scored once in each of his first six games for Mainz, becoming the first player in the history of the Bundesliga to score in each of his first six games with his new club.

On 31 July 2012, Mohamed Zidan signed for Emirati club Baniyas, signing a two-year contract.

Mohamed Zidan later described his stay in UAE as the biggest mistake in his life.

Mohamed Zidan had allegedly chosen not to represent Egypt, as he felt he would lose his starting spot with Mainz.

Mohamed Zidan said that the Egyptian head coach Shehata had not treated him well, and that the whole thing seemed too unprofessional for him.

However, Mohamed Zidan remained doubtful for the friendly match against Uruguay due to an injury that forced him to miss Werder Bremen's season opener.

Mohamed Zidan was called to represent Egypt in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Burundi, where he scored his first international goal only five minutes after kick-off.

Mohamed Zidan was used in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana as a striker, sometimes a lone striker, a winger and as an offensive midfielder.

Mohamed Zidan was called up to rejoin Egypt national team for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Mohamed Zidan played in the opening Group C match against Nigeria.

Mohamed Zidan is unlikely to play for Egypt again after refusing to play a crucial qualifiers match against Central African Republic to fly off to China for a discussion with a Chinese club.

Mohamed Zidan was married to his long-time girlfriend Stina, who holds Danish citizenship, in 2014 in Germany.