Zaki Osman (; 14 April 1932 – 14 November 2014) was an Egyptian football manager and former football player who played for

Zamalek Zamalek ( , ''al zamalek'') is a ''qism'' (ward) within the West District (''hayy gharb'') in the Western Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is an affluent district on a man-made island which is geologically a part of the west bank of the Nile River, wit ...

., He also played for the Egypt national team, he was a part of the team that won the 1953 Arab Games. As a manager, he was nicknamed (Coach's Sheikh) (). Zaki Osman has left a clear mark in the Zamalek's history as a player and coach. He will be known as the “Sheikh of Coaches” and as one of the most outstanding Egyptian players in the 1950s.

Early life

Zaki Osman was born on 14 April 1932 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He began playing football as a young boy in the streets and neighborhoods of Cairo, he then moved at the age of 14 to El Sekka El Hadid SC.

Playing career

He played for El Sekka El Hadid's first team in 1949. After two years with El Sekka, he moved to

Al Ahly Al-Ahly Sporting Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahly, is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest ...

in 1951, he achieved with his new club the

Egyptian Premier League The Egyptian Premier League (), also known as the Nile League () for sponsorship reasons, after the addition of title sponsor Nile Developments, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the highest level of the Egyptian football ...

title and the

Egypt Cup The Egypt Cup (also known as the Egyptian FA Cup and formerly as the King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt. It is the oldest club competition in Africa. The first team to win the trophy was Zamalek in 1922. Al A ...

title in 1951–52 season. However, after only this season, he left Al Ahly. In 1952, he moved to

, his old team's main competitor, as he was originally a Zamalek fan coming from a family that were also fans of Zamalek. After moving to Zamalek, the administration of Al Ahly announced that he was forced to move to Zamalek, however, Osman's father submitted a report to the

Public Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

to prove that his son moved to Zamalek of his own free will. Othman has built his history as a player with Zamalek, he won with the club the

Cairo League The Cairo League was an Official Egyptian football tournament. Before the start of Egyptian Premier League in its current form, the main competition was the Egypt Cup which started in 1922. The first season was played in 1922–23 and was won by Z ...

title in (1952–53),

in (

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

) and the

title in ( 1959–60). He preferred to retire in 1960 at an early age, 28, to begin his coaching career. Osman played for the

Egypt national football team The Egypt national football team (), nicknamed Pharaohs (), represents Egypt in men's FIFA, international Association football, football, and is governed by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), the governing body of football in Egypt. Egypt ...

, he was a part of the team that won the gold medal in the 1953 Arab Games in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Coaching career

Osman began his coaching career by leading El-Minya El-Qamh team, then the water company, and then the

U-18 team. He moved to

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

and led the

Yemen national football team The Yemen national football team () represents Yemen in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Yemen Football Association. When Yemen was split into Yemen Arab Republic, North and South Yemen, South, tw ...

. He then returned to leading the U-21 Egypt national football team. In 1974, he worked in Zamalek as an assistant manager to

Burkhard Pape Burkhard Pape (30 October 1932 – 1 February 2024) was a German professional football player and manager. After a brief playing career as a right winger, Pape became a football coach who spent nearly forty years managing national teams in Africa ...

, and Zamalek won the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. In 1976, Osman became tha manager of the Zamalek's first team. The team in this era included Egyptian football stars such as;

Hassan Shehata Hassan Hassan Shehata (; born 19 June 1947) is an Egyptian retired association football, football manager and former professional football player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is considered as one of the best forwar ...

Ali Khalil Ali Khalil (; born 28 November 1952) is an Egyptian football coach and a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is one of the icons of Egyptian football in the 1970s and one of its greatest strikers. Khalil spent all of his ...

, Farouk Gaafar, Taha Basry, Mahmoud El-Khawaga, Mohamed Tawfiq,

Mohamed Salah Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a right winger or Forward (association football), forward for club Liverpool F.C., L ...

, and others. As a manager, his most prominent achievement is winning the 1977 Egypt Cup, and the

1977–78 Egyptian Premier League The 1977–78 Egyptian Premier League, was the 21st season of the Egyptian Premier League, the top Egyptian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1948. The season started on 17 September 1977 and concluded o ...

titles. He then worked in the Gulf area before retiring from coaching permanently in 1991.

Honours

Player

Al Ahly *

: 1951–52 *

: 1951–52 Zamalek *

: 1959–60 *

: 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60 *

: 1952–53 Egypt *

Arab Games The Arab Games (), also known as the Pan-Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Games took place in 1953 in Alexandr ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

Head coach

Zamalek *

: 1977–78 *

: 1976–77

References

External links

Zaki Osman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osman, Zaki 2014 deaths Footballers from Cairo Egyptian men's footballers Egypt men's international footballers Zamalek SC players Yemen national football team managers Al Wasl F.C. managers Zamalek SC managers Egyptian Premier League players Men's association football players not categorized by position Egyptian football managers Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Yemen Al-Nassr FC managers Al-Shaab CSC managers Saudi Pro League managers Egyptian expatriate football managers Egyptian expatriate sportspeople in Yemen Egyptian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Egyptian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates