The Arab Republic of Aboutreika

A-BOU TREI-KA!

A-BOU TREI-KA!

A-BOU TREI-KA!

Egyptians pinned most of their hopes on one player in tonight's final of the Africa Nations Cup in Ghana, and he didn't let them down. Mohammed Aboutreika glided in like an antelope and scored the winning goal in the 77th minute of the match. My fellow patrons at the Falluja coffee shop in downtown Cairo leapt to their feet with shouts of joy. Within a few seconds the Egypt fans were rhythmically chanting their hero's name, a scene that was being repeated in dozens of other shoe-box cafes in the neighborhood and thousands of others across Cairo and up and down the whole country. Tonight, Egypt has something to be happy about. Egypt 1, Cameroon 0! Tonight, Egypt belongs to No. 22, Mohammed Aboutreika.

Starting with their 3-0 half-time lead over Cameroon in their opening match back on Jan. 22, Egypt was a Cinderella team. True, they were the defending Cup champions. But they won the 2006 tournament on their home turf, as hosts. Few imagined they could pull off a repeat, especially against squads such as Ivory Coast and Cameroon, with their top-rated international players, way over on the far western side of the continent. It seemed like a miracle when they clinched the opener 4-2, and the Pharaohs never looked back. They went on to trump Sudan and Angola, earn a draw against Zambia and defeat Ivory Coast in the semi-final last week.

The 29-year-old Aboutreika had a hand in every victory. But he captured the hearts of Egyptians and the rest of the Arab world with something more than fancy footwork. After he scored a goal in Egypt's 3-0 win over Sudan, he pulled up his No. 22 jersey to reveal a T-shirt emblazoned with the words, in Arabic and English, "Sympathize with Gaza." It was a declaration of political and humanitarian support for the Palestinians, who had just broken down the fence on the Egyptian border in defiance of an Israeli and Egyptian government blockade. Aboutreika was yellow-carded for unsportsmanlike conduct. Neither he nor Egyptian fans seemed to care.

Not that Aboutreika wasn't already a hero before the Gaza exploit. A midfielder for Egypt's hugely successful and popular al-Ahly team, he's been the top-rated player in the country for four straight years. An outfit called the International Federation of Football History and Statistics said a recent poll it sponsored named Aboutreika the world's most popular footballer, with more than 1 million votes, well ahead of the likes of Ronaldinho.

It is Aboutreika's character as much as his playing that endears him to his fans. His gesture to the Palestinians was in keeping with his active involvement in humanitarian causes, such as his role as a World Food Program Ambassador Against Hunger. In Egypt, he's known as a devout, humble man who has not let success go to his head. He has been photographed with his mother, who wears a traditional hijab, or headscarf. "He's a great player, but he's also honest and knows his god," a kid in the cafe wearing a Billabong sweatshirt tells me. Once, as the new young star for the Egyptian Tersana team, Aboutreika refused to sign a contract that elevated his salary way above those of his teammates. "We need to stop this habit of praising an individual player," he told reporters after the 2006 Cup victory. "It isn't Aboutreika, but the whole team who got the Cup. Without the others' efforts, I can't ever make anything." His first words after tonight's victory: "It's one of the greatest days of my life."

Egypt, blessed with such an athlete, is desperately in need of a little joy. Everyone agrees that the country has been sliding backwards lately. The flood of Palestinians into Gaza exposed an embarrassing decline in the Egyptian government's ability to influence developments in the Middle East, even on its own border. The regime has been arresting journalists, bloggers and Islamic fundamentalists in another big domestic crackdown on dissent. Meanwhile, ordinary Egyptians are grumbling about the higher price of such things as electricity, water and bread. Even government employees have been going on strike. "We wanted a reason to be happy," says Salah, one of the customers at the Falluja coffee shop. "Egyptians are feeling choked. Everything is no good."

Except, that is, a certain No. 22 footballer who sent Egyptians by the millions into the streets tonight. After the winning goal, Gamal, a brick layer next to me, sits down and kisses his fingers. "Thanks to God," he says. "It's a victory for my country, my people." As I passed Tahrir Square on the way home after the match, gathering crowds were waving the Egyptian flag and whooping it up. And they were chanting, "A-bou Trei-ka! A-bou Trei-ka! A-bou Trei-ka!"

--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo