Essam El-Hadary

Club career El Hadary was born in Kafr El Battikh, Damietta. His father was a craftsman who owned his own workshop making furniture. El Hadary took up playing football without his parents' knowledge, washing his muddy clothes in a local river after playing in order to avoid them knowing. He was spotted by his local football team before being signed by Second Division club Damietta at age 17. In his first training session, he was offered goalkeeping gloves, having previously never worn a pair, but refused to wear them and would run the to training every day. He made his first team debut for Damietta in 1993 at the age of 20, and after two seasons signed a pre-contract with Egyptian champions Al Ahly. El Hadary was fined and suspended by Al Ahly, before world governing body FIFA gave permission for Sion to complete the deal.

In 2009, FIFA suspended El Hadary and penalized Sion, even though he had already decided to return to Egypt. In July, while his suspension was stayed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), El Hadary moved to Egyptian Premier League side Ismaily. In 2010, his four month suspension was upheld by the CAS, and in January a Swiss civil court upheld the ban and fines and additionally ordered him to pay FIFA's court costs.

In December 2010, after a brief stint with Zamalek, he played for the Cairo giants for only one season. In 2011, El Hadary moved to Sudanese club Al-Merreikh. After boycotting practices due to a pay dispute, he was loaned to Al-Ittihad Alexandria, but after a stadium riot in Port Said led to the suspension of the 2011–12 Egyptian Premier League season he returned to Sudan again.

After his contract with Al-Merreikh expired, he returned to Egypt, joining Wadi Degla in 2013, moving back to Ismaily in 2014, and returning again to Wadi Degla in 2015. Throughout this period, he continued to be acclaimed one of the best footballers ever to play for Egypt or anywhere in Africa; in 2013 he was included in Bleacher Report's "50 Greatest African Players of All Time" list, ranked number 6.

In 2017, an argument with a teammate led to El Hadary being thrown off the Wadi Degla team briefly. In June of that year, he signed for Al-Taawoun to become the first foreign goalkeeper to play in Saudi Arabia. On 10 December, he scored from a stoppage-time penalty in a 4–0 victory over Al-Ettifaq, becoming the oldest player to score in the Saudi Pro League, aged 44 years and 329 days.

On 2 July 2018, it was confirmed that El Hadary had joined Ismaily for the third time in his career. On 28 January 2019, El Hadary signed with Nogoom. However, he left the club following their relegation at the end of the season.

On 18 November 2020, El Hadary announced his official retirement in order to start his coaching career.

International career El Hadary represented Egypt a total of 159 times from his debut in 1996 until his retirement in 2018. He won the African Cup of Nations four times with his country. He was chosen as the best goalkeeper in the 2006 African Cup of Nations, held in homeland Egypt, in the 2008 African Cup of Nations, held in Ghana and for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, held in Angola. On 1 February 2017, El Hadary saved two penalties as Egypt defeated Burkina Faso 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Final.

In June 2018, at the age of 45, he was named in Egypt's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 25 June, El Hadary was handed a start in Egypt's final group match against Saudi Arabia to become the oldest player ever to play in and debut at a World Cup at the age of 45 years and 161 days, once again breaking Mondragón's record of 43 years and three days. El Hadary stopped a penalty kick in the first half of the match, but subsequently conceded from a second penalty just before half time; his team eventually lost the game 2–1 after conceding a goal in stoppage time.

On 7 August 2018, El Hadary announced his international retirement at the age of 45. In November 2019, the FIFA World Football Museum exhibited El Hadary's gloves of his World Cup match for being the tournament's oldest player and the first African goalkeeper ever to save a penalty.

Post-playing career In September 2021, El Hadary became the goalkeeping coach of Egypt national team until March 2022, before joining Rogério Micale's Egypt U23 staff in August 2022. In February 2023, he became part of Héctor Cúper's coaching staff of Syria national team.

Career statistics El Hadary, the goalkeeper coach for the Egyptian national team, during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

International Sources: + Appearances and goals by national team and year National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals

Al Merreikh Sudan Premier League: 2011, 2013 Sudan Cup: 2012, 2013 Egypt Africa Cup of Nations: 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010 Pan Arab Games: 2007

Egypt Military World Military Cup: 2001

Egypt U23 All-Africa Games: 1995

Individual CAF Champions League Best Goalkeeper: 2001, 2005, 2006 Africa Cup of Nations Best Goalkeeper: 2006, 2008, 2010