Full name Tewfik Abdullah Name Tewfik Abdullah Date of birth 23 June 1896 Role Football player | Years Team | |
1922 Cowdenbeath 1922 _ 1923 | ||
Tawfik Abdullah (Arabic: توفيق عبد الله) (born 23 June 1896 in Cairo, Egypt) was an Egyptian football player, and the second Egyptian to play in the English Football League. During his time in England, he featured for Derby County, Hartlepool United, Bridgend Town, and Cowdenbeath. Later on, he played four seasons in the American Soccer League, two seasons with Al Ahly, and one season with his home team El Mokhtalat (Zamalek) before finishing his career with a Canadian league in the 1930s. Following his retirement from the sport, he became the manager of the Farouk Club (now known as Zamalek Club). Subsequently, he became the manager of the Egyptian National Football Team during the 1940s and more prominently at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland.
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Early career
Abdullah was born in 1896, in Cairo, Egypt. He began his career with Zamalek in Cairo and represented Egypt at the 1920 Olympic Games, after which he made a highly publicized move Derby County in England. He was nicknamed the "Toothpick".
United Kingdom
Upon arrival in England, Abdullah became one of four Egyptians who played British Professional Football before World War Il. Ron Ferguson, in his book Helicopter Dreams, tells the story of Abdullah's debut for Derby County against Manchester City where he ran onto the pitch shouting "Where's my camel?" On closer examination, it was found his actual words were "Where's Mick Hammill?" Abdullah then moved to Scotland to play with Cowdenbeath, then to Wales to play for Bridgend Town F.C. He returned to England for a brief time with Hartlepool United, before moving on to play in the United States.
United States and Canada
Abdullah signed on with the Providence Clamdiggers of the fledgling American Soccer League in 1924. He spent three seasons with Providence before transferring to powerhouse Fall River Marksmen during the 1926-1927 season. He then left Fall River to join the Hartford Americans for the 1927-1928 season. Hartford played only eleven games that season, folding following the 23 October 1927 game with the New Bedford Whalers. Abdullah then played eight games with the New York Nationals before finishing the year by returning to play for Fall River. After returning to his home country of Egypt for a stint there, he returned to the Montreal Carsteel of the Canadian National Soccer League where he spent the last days of his playing career.