Ahmed Hossam Mido is an Egyptian football striker, who was born on February 23, 1983 in Cairo. He was included into the Egypt national football team in 2001, and he scored on his international debut in a 2-1 win over United Arab Emirates. Popularly known as Mido, he was a part of the Egypt squad that played at the 2004 African Cup of Nations. A part of the team that finished 5th at the 2006 African Nations Cup, Ahmed Hossam Mido has amassed 44 caps and scored 18 times, as of the year 2008.
Ahmed Hossam Mido kick started his football career in 1999 with the Egyptian club, El-Zamalek, for which he made four appearances, scoring thrice. In 2000, a Belgian club, K.A.A. Gent, signed him and in the following season, he won the Belgian Ebony Shoe, a football award given annually to the best African player (or player with African roots) in the Belgian Jupiler League. after his stint with the Belgian club, he went on a transfer to Eredivisie side Ajax Amsterdam (AFC Ajax) in 2001. Ahmed Hossam Mido ended the 2001-02 season with the Dutch League and Cup double, and scored in AFC Ajax’s win over FC Utrecht for which won the team the Amstel Cup.
Ahmed Hossam Mido won the ‘Confederation of African Football (CAF) Young Player of the Year’ award in 2002. He joined Celta Vigo, a Spanish football team, on loan in 2003 and scored on his debut against Athletic Bilbao, in a 2-1 win. Ajax accepted a €12 million bid for Ahmed Hossam Mido from Olympique de Marseille, a Ligue 1 French football team, and completed the move on a 5-year deal on July 12, 2003, which made him the most expensive Egyptian player ever. He made his debut for Olympique de Marseille in a pre-season game against Dinamo Bucharest. He also scored first goal for the club in a pre-season match against PAOK Thessaloniki during which he scored 2 goals and made 2 assists.
In August 2003, Ahmed Hossam Mido played his first official game for the club against Guingamp. Later that year, he scored a goal against the Real Madrid F.C. at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League. On the final day of the 2004 transfer window, Ahmed Hossam Mido signed on A.S.Roma, an Italian football club, for a whopping €6 million and made his debut against Messina in September that year.
In January 2005, Ahmed Hossam Mido was signed by Tottenham Hotspur on an 18-month loan deal. He scored two goals in his debut game against the Portsmouth F.C. and culminated the season with 11 appearances and 3 goals. By the end of the 2005-06 season, Ahmed Hossam Mido became Tottenham Hotspur’s second highest goal scorer with 11 goals in 27 games. He became a permanent player of the Spurs on August 29, 2006 for an undisclosed fee. He found the net against West Ham United with a volley and followed that with two goals against League Two side MK Dons in the League Cup. His final goal for the Spurs was against the Arsenal F.C. on January 31, 2007.
Ahmed Hossam Mido signed Middlesbrough in August 2007, for an astounding fee of £6 million on a four-year deal. He scored on his debut for Middlesbrough against the Fulham F.C. and on his home debut against the Newcastle United F.C. Ahmed Hossam Mido suffered a stress fracture and returned to first-team action in January 2008 at the FA Cup in a 2-0 victory over the Mansfield Town F.C.
