Yaken

Yaken got his footballing start with the Nubian Youth Club of Cairo before being spotted by Al-Ahly’s coach in 1951. He spent two years with that team prior to moving to Zamalek SC, where he remained until his 1972 retirement. During that time, he won the Egypt Premier League three times (1960, 1964, and 1965) and the Egypt Cup seven times (1952, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1962). He was also a member of the national team of Egypt (known politically as the United Arab Republic from 1958 through 1971, following its brief 1958-1961 union with Syria) between 1953 and 1970 and earned 82 caps with 10 goals. His most notable appearances came at the 1960 and 1964 Olympic football tournaments, where Egypt was eliminated in the preliminary round and the bronze medal match respectively. After his retirement from active competition, he coached football in the Gulf states for several years, before returning to Cairo in 1983. From 1988 through 1992 he was a member of Zamalek’s board of directors. His son Hesham Yakan and nephew Ayman Younes both played for Zamalek.