Mohamed Latif (Arabic: ;محمد لطيف 23 October 1909 – 17 March 1990) was an Egyptian football manager, pundit, referee and executive. He was a former professional footballer. He played for the clubs El-Zamalek of Egypt and Rangers F.C. of Scotland,[2] as well as for the Egypt national team.[3]
 Latif with Zamalek in 1940 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 October 1909 | ||
| Place of birth | Beni Suef, Egypt | ||
| Date of death | 17 March 1990 (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Cairo, Egypt | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1926-1935 | Zamalek | ||
| 1935–1936[1] | Rangers | 1 | (0) |
| 1936-1945 | Zamalek | ||
| International career | |||
| 1932-1942 | Egypt | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| Zamalek | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editClub career
editLatif started his professional career in Zamalek in 1926, he was the main Zamalek's forward for nine seasons. After a brief spell in Rangers in 1935, he returned to Zamalek in the 1936–37 and played until his retirement in 1945.
Latif won with Zamalek six titles of the Egypt Cup (1931–32, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1940–41, 1942–43, 1943–44). He also won with his team the Cairo League for eight seasons (1928–29, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1944–45), and two titles of the King Fouad Cup (1933–34, 1940–41). Latif scored six goals in the Cairo derby, he was Zamalek's captain in the early 1940s.
After the World Cup, Latif went to Glasgow, as did goalkeeper Mustafa Mansour, possibly at the suggestion of Egypt's national coach, Scotsman James McRea.[4][5] He played his only Scottish League match for Rangers in the 1935–36 season, against Hibs.[6][7]
International career
editLatif helped the Egypt national team qualify for the 1934 World Cup, scoring three goals against the Mandatory Palestine football team during the qualification rounds.[8] He also played at the finals tournament with Egypt in the group stage.
In 1936, he was part of the Egyptian team that played in the Olympic tournament in Berlin.[9] He played for Egypt for 10 years. Due to the outbreak of World War II, he was unlucky as all sports activities were cancelled.[10]
Post retirement career
editAfter retirement from football, he worked as a referee in the 1940s until he earned the international badge and officiated many international matches. Latif also held several managerial roles in the Egyptian Football Association during the 1950s. He also worked as Zamalek's coach in the early 1960s. He won the 1962 Egypt Cup title with Zamalek as the head coach.[11]
He was the first to introduce football commentary on television and was the General Head of sports programs in the Egyptian Television for 16 years. He has broadcast World Cup matches since 1962.
His fame increased when, in 1948, he moved into the field of commentating on matches in radio, and he remained with the microphone until he passed away on 17 March 1990. He was called the Sheikh of Commentators. Mohamed Latif was distinguished by his own distinctive style in commenting on football matches, and his commentary was of great importance, especially in the Cairo derby matches.[12]
He has reached such an extent of fame that he was hosted in Egyptian films as a sports commentator on football matches. Perhaps among the most prominent of these films is the film Stranger in My House starring Soad Hosny and Nour El Sherif, and the film In Summer We Must Love starring Salah Zulfikar and Samir Ghanem.[13]
Honours
editPlayer
editZamalek
- Egypt Cup: 1932, 1935, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944
- Cairo League: 1928–29, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1944–45
- King's Cup: 1933–34, 1940–41
Rangers
Egypt
- Summer Olympics: fourth place 1928
Manager
editZamalek
References
edit- ^ "Rangers player Mohammed Latif". FitbaStats. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ Dr.Tarek Said's Homepage - Egyptian Soccer History
- ^ "Mohamed Latif". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ Zinda 31 August 2004
- ^ Ben Carrington; Ian McDonald (2001). 'Race', Sport, and British Society. Psychology Press. p. 38. ISBN 9780415246293. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ Scottishleague.Net Sfaqs
- ^ Anna Pukas (19 June 2018). "The Egyptian football players who paved the way for Mo Salah". Arab News. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ WORLD CUP 1934 - QUALIFYING
- ^ "Mohamed Latif Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
- ^ "Olympedia – Mohamed Latif". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "في الذكرى الـ113 لميلاد محمد لطيف أشهر معلق في القرن العشرين.. "زملكاوي" لعب في كأس العالم واحترف في إسكتلندا". فيتو (in Arabic). 23 October 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "114 سنة على ميلاد كابتن لطيف، مدرب وحكم ومحاضر وشيخ المعلقين الرياضيين". فيتو (in Arabic). 23 October 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Muhammad Latif - Actor Filmography، photos، Video". elCinema.com. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
External links
edit- Mohamed Latif at fussballdaten.de (in German)
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