Tewfik Abdullah
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tewfik Abdullah | ||
| Date of birth | 23 June 1896 | ||
| Place of birth | Cairo, Egypt | ||
| Playing position | Inside Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| Elmoktalat (Zamalek)-Sporting Club in Cairo | 15 | (1) | |
| 1920-1921 | Derby County 1920 _ 1922 | 11 | (1) |
| 1922 | Cowdenbeath 1922 _ 1923 | 62 | (24) |
| 1923 | Bridgend Town 1923 _ 1924 | 6 | (1) |
| 1924 | Hartlepools United | 11 | (0) |
| 1924-1926 | Providence Clamdiggers | 8 | (0) |
| 1927 | Fall River Marksmen | 1 | (1) |
| 1927 | Hartford Americans | ||
| 1928 | New York Nationals | ||
| 1928 |
Fall River Marksmen al ahly 2 seasons el mokhtalt ( zamalek now ) one season | ||
| – | Montreal Carsteel | ||
| National team | |||
| 1940-1944 | Egypt | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals) | |||
Tewfik Abdullah (Arabic: توفيق عبد الله) (born 23 June 1896 or 1897 in Cairo, Egypt) was an Egyptian football player[1] who was the second Egyptian to play in the English Football League. Later on he played four seasons in the American Soccer League before finishing his career in Canada. After finishing his journey out of Egypt he joined Al Ahly for two seasons and then played for his home team El Mokhtalat (Zamalek) for one season. He finished his playing career in Canada before retiring as a player in the 1930’s. After he retired he became a manager and started his career as the manager of the Farouk club (Now known as Zamalek) in the 1930s. He managed the national team of Egypt first in the 1940s and then again in the Summer Olympic Games in 1952 that were held in Helsinki, Finland.
Early career
Abdullah was born in either 1896 or 1897[2][3] in Cairo, Egypt. He began his career with the International Sporting Club in Cairo and played for Egypt at the 1920 Olympic Games[4] before moving to England.
United Kingdom
On arrival in England, Abdullah became one of a quartet of Egyptians[5] who played British Professional Football before World War Ill.[6] Ron Ferguson, in his book Helicopter Dreams,[7] tells the story that when Abdullah made his debut for Derby County[8] against Manchester City he ran onto the pitch shouting "Where's my camel?"—[9] on closer examination it was found his actual words were "Where's Mick Hammill?".[10] Abdullah then moved to Scotland to play with Cowdenbeath, then to Wales to play for Bridgend Town F.C.[3] He returned England for a brief spell with Hartlepool United,[11] before moving to the United States.[12]
United States and Canada
Nicknamed Toothpick, Abdullah signed with the Providence Clamdiggers of the American Soccer League in 1924. He spent three seasons with Providence before transferring to the powerhouse Fall River Marksmen during the 1926-1927 season. However, he left Fall River to join the Hartford Americans for the 1927-1928 season. Hartford lasted only eleven games that season, folding following the 23 October 1927 game with the New Bedford Whalers. Adbullah then played eight games with the New York Nationals[13] before finishing the year back with Fall River. He then moved to Montreal Carsteel of the Canadian National Soccer League where he finished his career.[3]
References
- ↑ University of Leicester, Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research- fact sheet number 4 (Black Footballers, section 3.4)
- ↑ German Wikipedia lists his date of birth as 23 June 1897 de:Tewfik Abdullah
- 1 2 3 Jose, Colin (1998). American Soccer League, 1921-1931 (Hardback). The Scarecrow Press. (ISBN 0-8108-3429-4).
- ↑ www.rsssf.com
- ↑ the other three were H. Hegazi, Fulham, 1910-11; Mohammed Latif, Glasgow Rangers 1935-36, M. Mansour, GK, Queens Park (Glasgow) 1938-39
- ↑ Joyce, M "Football League Players' Records 1888–1939" Nottingham, Soccer Data Publications ISBN 1-899468-67-6 .
- ↑ (2006) Aberdeen, Northern Books for Famedram ISBN 0-905489-53-5
- ↑ "Abdullah's Career Details with "The Rams"". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ↑ Interview with Robert Philip, Daily Telegraph, 7 January 2007
- ↑ Moore,C "United Irishmen" Edinburgh,Mainstream,1999 ISBN 1-84018-348-9
- ↑ Hartlepool details
- ↑ Mentioned in article about Giles Heron, ESPN BLack History Month
- ↑ Alegi,M; Johnes,M:Mellor,G Book Review Soccer and Society Vol 2 No 3 Fall 2001 p 119- 135 ISSN 1466-0970
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