Ibrahim Youssef

Considered one of Egypt’s greatest-ever defenders on the football pitch, Ibrahim Youssef was known as the “Black Deer” for his agility and speed. He spent six years (1981-1987) with the national team and won gold and bronze at the 1987 All-Africa and the 1983 Mediterranean Games respectively. He also earned four caps at the 1984 Summer Olympics where, after losing to Italy but winning against Costa Rica and tying the United States, Egypt advanced to the quarter-finals and was defeated by France, the eventual gold medalist. That year Youssef was named the second-best footballer in Africa and, in 1985, was considered the third-best. Domestically he played for Zamalek, winning the Egyptian Premier League twice (1984 and 1988), the Egyptian Cup twice (1979 and 1988), the CAF Champions League twice (1984 and 1988), and the Afro-Asian Cup in 1988. At the time of his death from a heart attack in June 2013, at the age of 54, he was a board member for Zamalek.