Raafat Attia

Raafat Attia
	Attia with Zamalek in 1965
Personal information
Full name	Raafat Ateya Helmy
Date of birth	6 February 1934
Place of birth	Egypt
Date of death	21 July 1978 (aged 44)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
1952–1957	Al Ittihad Alexandria
1957–1967	Zamalek
International career
1957–1962	Egypt
Managerial career
1976–1977	Al-Wehda
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Egypt (as player)
Mediterranean Games
Africa Cup of Nations
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Raafat Attia (Arabic: رأفت عطية, 6 February 1934 – 21 July 1978) was an Egyptian professional footballer who played as a forward for Zamalek and the Egypt national team.^[2]

Biography

Attia started his career with Al Ittihad in 1952, he moved for Zamalek in 1957, he played for Zamalek for 10 years, and for the rest of his career. He won with Zamalek three Egyptian League titles in (1959–60, 1963–64, and 1964–65) and the Egypt Cup for four times (1958, 1959, 1960, and 1962).

Attia (first standing from right) with Zamalek in 1964

He played for the Egyptian national team, Attia was part of the team that won the gold medal at the 1955 Mediterranean Games in Barcelona.^[3] He was a part of the team that won the 1957 African Cup of Nations title where he scored the first ever goal in the tournament’s history. Although he missed the 1959 edition, he returned in the 1962 edition, when Egypt were runner-ups. He also represented his country in the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics, where Egypt finished fourth in the tournament.^[4]^[5]

Attia (third standing from left) with Egypt in 1959

After his retirement from football, he worked as a manager for a brief period. Attia worked in Saudi Arabia and managed the Saudi Arabian League football club Al-Wehda in the 1976–77 season.^[6]

Raafat Attia died relatively young, at the age of 44 in a car accident, in 1978.^[7]