Ahly's Abou-Treika likely to end career

Ahly's talismanic playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika is likely to end his football career after sustaining a hamstring injury that will sideline him for six weeks and end his Club World Cup campaign which he previously said would be his last adventure. The 35-year-old was replaced at halftime as Ahly, struggling in his absence, conceded two second-half goals to lose to China's Guangzhou Evergrande in the Club World Cup quarter final. "The player suffered a hamstring tear that will rule him out of action for six weeks," Ahly said on their official website. "The club's coach Mohamed Youssef and football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz are trying to convince Abou-Treika to stay with the team in Morocco until the tournament ends after he informed the club of his wish to return to Cairo." Abou-Treika said he would hang up his boots after Egypt failed to reach next year's World Cup finals following a humiliating 7-3 aggregate defeat by Ghana in a qualifying playoff. He said recently he hoped his last match would be against Bayern Munich, whom Ahly would have faced had they defeated Guangzhou. A decade of glory After joining Ahly from Tersana in January 2004, Abou-Treika was an inspiration for both Ahly and Egypt in their golden age. He won 22 trophies with the Red Devils, including four Champions League titles and a bronze medal at the Club World Cup in 2006. The Magician, as he is known in Egypt, helped the Pharaohs win two African Cup of Nations titles in 2006 and 2008, playing 98 times and scoring 38 goals. He scored some historic goals for Egypt and Ahly including the Pharaohs’ winning penalty in the 2006 CAN final against Ivory Coast 0-0 (4-3 on penalties), the winner in the 1-0 victory over Cameroon in the 2008 CAN final, a stunner for Ahly against Sfaxien in the 2006 Champions League final and a late winner against Club America (2-1) in the third place playoff at the 2006 Club World Cup. He has been dubbed "The Smiling Assassin" by foreign media because of his two main trademarks: goalscoring and smiling, which made him one of the most popular players in Africa. Abou-Treika’s scintillating displays were highly regarded on the local and continental stage. One of Egypt's best ever players, he made the shortlist for the 2008 CAF African Footballer of the Year award and was only beaten by Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor. He won the Africa-based Player of the Year award in 2006, 2008 and 2012. Source: Ahram Online