This is Mohamed Abou Gabal, the man they call Gabaski. This 32-year-old custodian made his Pharaohs debut in 2011 in an AFCON qualifier against Sierra Leone. That day, he conceded two goals, and Egypt lost. Not much of a story. Who cares?He would have to wait over a decade for his next cap – and that was a substitute appearance in a friendly. Not much of a career, really. Why would we even talk about him?Saturday, 22.00: (3.40) Burkina Faso (3.00) Tunisia (2.50)Then came his third. Last year he had to come on for the injured Mohamed El Shenawy in a World Cup qualifier against Libya. He was never a player whose name boys would shout out while kicking a ball around in the street. So why do we keep talking about this guy?Well, a few months after the third came his fourth appearance for Egypt. Once again, he replaced the undisputable holder of the number one shirt, El Shenawy. However, the slight difference is this one came in the Africa Cup of Nations with the match locked at 0-0 and the fate of the nation in balance. Yeah, that’s why we’re still going on about Mohamed.Decent save by Gabaski from Eric Bailly’s penalty 🇪🇬🧤⚽️ pic.twitter.com/1y4ByYeAF2— James Nalton (@JDNalton) January 26, 2022 In his country’s tight win over Ivory Coast, he was the man to save the only spot-kick – and there is something poetic about the fact that it was a save from a cocky Eric Bailly “no-look” penalty attempt. A backup goalkeeper who only ever played in his homeland and has more fingers on one of his hands than he’s got games for Egypt saves a penalty from an over-confident Manchester United star. By doing so, he instantly becomes the hero for 100 million people watching back home. That’s what football is all about.🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬✅🧤 pic.twitter.com/vOX4YkuR6e— Mohamed Abo Gabal (@mohmedabogabal) January 26, 2022 Two Egyptian Premier League crowns and six national cups is a respectable haul. But Abou Gabal was never as happy as he was on Wednesday night when Mohamed Salah slammed in the winning penalty and jumped to celebrate with his slightly less famous namesake.In the aftermath of the match, Mohamed’s father Qutub Abou Gabal was so delighted that he promised to slaughter two calves in celebration. The man of the hour kept it classy, wishing his buddy El Shenawy a speedy recovery and thanking the fans for sticking with the team. Who knows, after another win or two, maybe he decides to slaughter a few calves, too. So far, he’s only been killing Elephants.It was a no-look as well 💀💀 pic.twitter.com/6HPWqAklON— No Context Eric Bailly (@NoContextBailly) January 26, 2022 Egypt may or may not win this AFCON. They certainly do have the quality, but since when does that matter in a tournament like this? There is, however, a thing that we can already say for sure: when Mohamed Abou Gabal goes home, he won’t be some goalkeeper who sometimes sits on the substitutes bench. Oh no, he’ll be Gabaski, the guy who delighted a nation.By: Nenad Mijaljevic
