Mostafa Fathi

Early career

At the age of 7, Fathi used to play football as an amateur in the streets in his village "Meet Mazzah" in Mansoura, Dakahlia. He started applying for tests in some football academies in his village. He was accepted in Meet Mazzah youth centre to play with their team in amateur tournaments. He was noticed by Ayman El Agizy, manager of Belkas then. He signed an amateur contract with Belkas club in Egyptian Second Division.

During his time in Belkas, Smouha SC asked to sign Fathi to play for their U-20 team after they noticed him during a friendly match between Belkas U-20 vs Smouha U-20. Also Misr Lel-Makkasa SC asked to sign him but Belkas board of directors asked for a very large transfer fee. During these times, Fathi applied for a test in youth team in El Mansoura SC three times and failed due to his physical weakness. He travelled to UAE for two months and was tested in Al Ain FC, Al-Ahli Dubai F.C. and Al Dhafra FC but he was not successful in any of them. After Fathi failed to transfer to any professional team, he decided to sign with Belkas a professional contract.

One day, Fathi was asked to join an amateur team to play a friendly match with Nabarouh during Ramadan as a part of Nabarouh pre-season friendlies. Fathi showed great skills during the match. As a result, He was chosen to be tested in Nabarouh club by their manager and Zamalek former player Mohamed Sabry. Sabry said: "One day in Ramadan before iftar during a friendly match, I saw a very talented young player. I called him and asked what his club was. Fathi replied that he played in Belkas club but he do not participate in games". Sabry asked to test him in Nabarouh. Fathi was tested for 15 days and showed a great talent. He played some friendly matches with Nabarouh. One of them was against Al-Masry SC where Fathi scored a goal. Their manager offered to sign Fathi for L.E. 50000. But Fathi preferred Zamalek's offer.

Zamalek

As a Zamalek scout and former player, Sabry called Zamalek member of board of directors Amr El-Ganayny. He told him that he has a great talented player that will one day be the best in Egypt. Amr EL-Ganayny contacted Zamalek manager then, Helmy Toulan, to have a friendly game with Nabarouh. Fathi played as a substitute in the second half and showed a great talent. Toulan was impressed by his skills and great passing and shooting accuracy. Toulan asked the club to sign Fathi. Fathi signed a professional contract for five years for L.E. 125000 to Belkas.

On 2 January 2014, Fathi debuted with the first team against Ismaily SC in a loss of 1-0. On 9 April 2014, Fathi scored his first goal against legendary goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary in a match against Wadi Degla FC, where he made a feint made El-Hadary fall on his back. Since then he became a fan favorite player. Zamalek Fans started calling him "El-Safel" which means the Immoral; after what he did to the legendary goalkeeper. He scored his second official goal in the League against El Qanah in a win 3-0. Zamalek former manager, Mido, enhanced Fathi's performance and made him one of his key players. Fathi won Egypt Cup with Zamalek.

After assigning Jaime Pacheco as a new manager for Zamalek. Fathi appearances decreased dramatically. Pacheco stated that Fathi lacks the physical strength. Pacheco depended more on Moamen Zakaria in attacking midfield. After Zakaria loan ended and Pacheco left Zamalek, Zamalek hired Jesualdo Ferreira to be the new manager. Fathi was back as a key player helping the club winning the Double with his goals and assists. He also helped the club in CAF Confederation Cup to reach semi-final. He scored a goal against Orlando Pirates FC helping Zamalek winning 2-1. He scored again against Orlando Pirates in second leg after only one minute he came as a substitute and from his first touch in the field.

Although Zamalek changed three different coaches in only half of the season Fathi remained a key player with all of them. He scored four goals as a substitute. On 20 Jan 2016, Fathi scored a goal against ElMasry with an amazing half kick it was considered one of the best goals of the season. He helped the club winning Egypt Cup 2016 by scoring the winning goal against Ittihad El Shorta in the 90+6 minute of stoppage time after a Maradonic dribble. He also scored the third goal against Zamalek's rival Al Ahly after he made a ball trick that made Saad Samir crawl on his hands to get the ball.

After he helped Zamalek reach Champions League semi-final a number of European clubs offered to sign Fathi. Bologna, Torino and Lille offered to sign Fathi but Zamalek's president, Mortada Mansour, refused the offers because the team needed the player in Champions League.

International career

Fathi constantly represent U-23 Egypt national team since he joined Zamalek.

He was called to represent the first national team for the first time by Egypt national team manager Héctor Cúper in a 14 June 2015 game against Tanzania. He played for 20 minutes. He played his second international match against Chad on 17 November 2015. He assisted a goal in winning 4-0. Although Fathi was a key player with Cuper, he missed 2017 Africa Cup of Nations because of an injury.

Club

Individual

Personal life

Fathi's uncle is former ENPPI player Hamada El Hawary. He has one brother and one sister and he is the youngest of them. In an interview, Fathi said that his amateur salary with Belkas was L.E. 5 daily and was raised to L.E. 7 daily for transportation, but when he transferred to Zamalek his salary became L.E. 60,000 per season.