Fathi Khorshid

Growing up in the agricultural town of El Mahalla El Kubra, Fathi Khorshid received little in the way of formal training, but his natural talents led him to a twelve-year career with the local Ghazl El-Mahalla football team. He stayed with Ghazl despite being offered a large sum to play for Zamalek, allegedly because his father threatened to kick him out of the house if he played for any team other than the local one. A staple of the squad during the 1960s, Khorshid was also a member of the national side and made two Olympic appearances for Egypt. In 1960 the team lost its games against Bulgaria and upcoming gold medalist Yugoslavia and tied Turkey, finishing last in its preliminary round pool; Khorshid was the goalkeeper in the Bulgarian and Turkish matches. In 1964, Egypt came in fourth, losing the bronze medal match to Germany; this time, Khorshid kept goal for two of the nation’s six matches. In both years, Egypt competed as the United Arab Republic, due to its union with Syria.