Egypt´s Zidan pays tribute to namesake Zidane

While not in the same class as French great Zinedine Zidane, Egypt’s star striker Mohamed Zidan has revealed his admiration for his namesake.

By scoring twice against Brazil in Egypt’s opening Confederations Cup match, Zidan matched the exploits of Zizou, who famously managed a brace against the South Americans at the 1998 World Cup.

“Zinedine Zidane was the best player in the whole world and I always try to learn a lot from him,” said Zidan, who picked up a knock in Egypt’s shock victory over Italy on Thursday but is expected to be fit for their last group game.

“I usually watch a lot of the matches that Zidane played and look to learn from his skills and moves.”

Zidan honed his scoring touch in Europe, where he has spent much of his career, with time at Danish side Midtjylland preceding spells with German outfits Werder Bremen, Mainz, Hamburg and now Borussia Dortmund.

“It’s really nice to have a similar name like him and I hope that I can be as good as he was one day,” added Zidan, who recently announced his engagement to Egyptian actress Mai Ezzidine.

When asked by fifa.com about his future at club level, Zidan said he was happy at Dortmund.

“I had a good season because I played several times and scored seven goals. I have three years left on my contract and I hope that I can make a name for myself a club level too,” he said.

Egypt, the African Nations Cup holders, can qualify for the Confederations Cup semi-finals if they beat the United States on Sunday and Italy lose to Brazil.