Agogo popular than Mubarak?…as he carries his charisma to Egypt

Perhaps, Zamalek's signing of Agogo could be the most important marriage between a Ghanaian (player) and an Egyptian (club), ever since Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah took a wife from the land of the Pharoahs.

Like the Chelsea midfield ace, Michael Essien, whose fame spread across the length and breath of France when he featured for Olympique Lyon, so has the Black Stars' striker, Junior Agogo hit instant fame and recognition in Egypt, even before he takes the first kick.

Essien's prominence could be directly linked to his sheer brilliance, pace, strength and versatility in the game, but it seems Agogo's popularity in Egypt goes beyond his ability to score goals. He is considered as the 'Ladies man', due mainly to his 'poster boy looks', light skin and tattooed body. This is the image that Agogo has carried to the land of Pharoahs with most Egyptians having already fallen in love with him.

Even before he embarks on his first major assignment for his new club against rivals El-Ahly in their CAF Champions' League on Sunday, the level of fame that Agogo exerts among the Egyptian populace, could be the envy of the Egyptian President himself.

My dark skin easily betrays me in the midst of any crowd of the predominantly light skinned Cairo community. The obvious question is my country of origin? And when I respond to Ghana, the next thing that follows is Agogo-o-o-o!

The Cairo community are so fascinated about the former Nottingham Forest striker that even their bitterest rivals supporters at El-Ahly, cannot wait to see him play on Sunday. "We are ardent fans of Ahly, infact 98% of the Cairo population support Ahly, but we love Agogo," three Egyptian U-21 hockey players remarked yesterday.

His popularity in Cairo comes nowhere near what was witnessed during the Ghana 2008 tournament. He has now become an Idol for the Egyptians, and is worshiped like a god in Cairo, where Ghana is currently participating in the 9th Africa U-21 hockey championship. The workers at Ghana's hockey team hotel, the Logistics Hotel, have developed this habit of calling almost every hockey player by the name Agogo, including the officials.

I was told by a shop attendant that former Dawu Youngsters/Black Stars striker Felix Aboagye, projected a good image for himself when he was playing for Zamalek, in Egypt. But Agogo has become a household name in Egypt, even before kicking a ball for his new club.

Many attempts by this paper to have a chat with Agogo to know how he feels about the whole popularity issue yielded no results. One can, however, conveniently say that Agogo is the most important personality in Egypt at the moment, and not even Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian President, comes anywhere near the Black Stars goal machine.