Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdel Hamid Wasfi (Arabic: أحمد حسام حسين عبد الحميد وصفي; born 23 February 1983), publicly known as Mido (Arabic: ميدو), is an Egyptian football manager and former player who played as a striker.
Mido started his career with Zamalek in Egypt in 1999. He left the club for Gent of Belgium in 2000, where he won the Belgian Ebony Shoe. This led to a move to Dutch side Ajax in 2001, from where he joined Celta Vigo on loan in 2003. His next destination was Marseille in France and he left them for Italian side Roma in 2004. He joined English side Tottenham Hotspur on an 18-month loan in 2005 and eventually joined the club permanently in 2006. He left the club in 2007 to join Middlesbrough, from whom he joined Wigan Athletic, Zamalek, West Ham United and Ajax on loan. In 2011, he rejoined Zamalek, before joining Barnsley in 2012. He also played for Egypt 51 times, scoring 19 goals. Mido retired from football in June 2013.
Mido started his career with Egyptian Premier League club Zamalek in 1999. He made his league debut on 22 May 2000 in a 0–0 draw against El Qanah. The next week, Mido scored his first two goals against Aluminium Nag Hammâdi, which Zamalek won 3–2. His African debut came on 28 May 2000, in a 2–1 win against Ethiopian Coffee, making the aggregate score 3–3, which led to the game being decided on penalties. Zamalek won 4–2. Zamalek eventually reached the 2000 African Cup Winners' Cup final, beating Cameroonian side Canon Yaoundé 4–3 on aggregate. Mido's performances eventually attracted interest from Belgian club Gent.
In 2000, at the age of 17, Mido signed for Gent. Initially, he suffered from homesickness, and returned to Egypt shortly after arriving in Belgium, only staying at his father's vehement insistence. Working hard to fight his reservations, Mido eventually overcame them, in his own words gaining "the mentality of a pro". Gent manager Patrick Remy was impressed by Mido's handling of the issue and promoted him to the first team in September 2000, placing him at first on the substitutes' bench. However, Mido continued to impress Remy, who commented on his "responsibilities ... [and] great technical capabilities". He eventually became a first-team regular, and made his league debut on 27 August 2000 in a 4–1 away win against Eendracht Aalst. On 2 October 2000, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 home win against Standard Liège. His European debut came on 12 September 2000, where Gent suffered a 6–0 home defeat to Ajax. He became a fan favourite, and was praised by the Belgian press at the end of the season. Mido went on to win the Belgian Ebony Shoe in 2001 as the best African player in the Belgian First Division, as well as being named the Belgian "Discovery of the Year". As he attracted interest from major clubs both in Belgium and abroad, he ended the season with a powerful performance against Royal Antwerp, scoring one of Gent's goals in a 3–1 win and setting up the other two. Two years later, Remy described the match to an Egyptian journalist, saying that "Mido did everything." He finished the season with 11 goals from 21 matches, as Gent finished fifth, earning them a spot in the following season of the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
After his success in Belgium with Gent, Mido signed a five-year contract with Eredivisie team Ajax in 2001. He suffered a concussion during their UEFA Cup match with Limassol, after colliding with a defender. He made his return for the team against Heerenveen, a match which Ajax lost 5–1. However, he was sent off against Twente, after kicking Spira Grujić whilst trying to beat him to the ball, for which he was later given a three-match ban. He returned for Ajax against Vitesse, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute. He failed to be selected for the substitutes bench against Feyenoord in March 2002, which was due to a minor clash with manager Ronald Koeman, and Mido left for a short vacation in Cairo. Mido scored in Ajax's victory over Utrecht in the KNVB Cup final, meaning he ended the 2001–02 season with the Dutch League and Cup double.
He played for only 32 minutes against Groningen, in a display which lacked creativity. He said afterwards he was tired and was carrying a slight injury during the match, but Koeman criticised Mido saying he was not giving everything. He revealed in September 2002 that he wanted to leave Ajax in the transfer window in late December. However, Mido soon apologised to Koeman and Leo Beenhakker regarding the transfer comments, saying the comment was "irresponsible" and "unthoughtful". He was handed a fine and suspended from Ajax's game against Lyon. In December of that year, he revealed that he wanted to stay at Ajax. He scored for Ajax during their 6–0 defeat of Willem II in February 2003, but Koeman again criticised Mido, commenting negatively on his performance against Roda in the KNVB Cup. He was dropped for Ajax's next game against Feyenoord, only featuring as an unused substitute. He suffered a muscle strain in his upper thigh after a friendly for Egypt, and was ruled out of Ajax's game against Groningen. Mido was relegated to the Ajax reserve team for disciplinary reasons, surrounding a perceived lack of effort in training. His situation at the club led to interest from Serie A clubs Juventus and Lazio and he later admitted to have thrown a pair of scissors at Ajax teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović following an argument in March 2003.
Celta Vigo made a loan offer for Mido in March, which was reported to have fallen through days later as it was not approved by FIFA. However, FIFA eventually allowed the move to go through and it was completed on 18 March. He scored on his Celta Vigo debut against Athletic Bilbao, which Celta won 2–1. Ajax valued Mido between the values of €5 million and €6 million, amidst interest from clubs in Italy and Spain. Newcastle United were reportedly on the verge of making a bid for Mido in May, but this was ruled out by Mido's agent Christophe Henrotay. Ajax attempted to make him return to the club, but he declined this, in favour of staying at Celta. He suffered a muscle injury whilst training in May, but was available to play in Celta's match against Villarreal, which saw Mido sent off in a game which Celta lost 5–0. Mido was linked with a move to Roma in late May, with Roma chairman Franco Sensi stating "I want Mido", but Ajax revealed they wanted €15 million for him. Ajax turned down a loan move from Real Betis for Mido in June. Marseille were then believed to have made an offer for the striker and Celta were not ready to meet Ajax's asking price of €15 million.
Ajax accepted a €12 million bid for Mido from Marseille in July, and completed the move on a five-year contract on 12 July 2003, which made Mido the most expensive Egyptian player ever. He made his debut for Marseille in 1–0 win over Guingamp on 1 August 2003. Jean-Pierre Papin gave praise to Mido, saying it was down to players like him that the French Ligue 1 was among the top European leagues. He scored against Real Madrid in a UEFA Champions League match in November, which Marseille lost 2–1.
Mido stated in March 2004 that he may leave Marseille at the end of the 2003–04 season. An English club and several Spanish clubs were believed to be interested in signing Mido, who had been overshadowed at Marseille by Didier Drogba. Atlético Madrid, Zaragoza, Osasuna and former club Celta Vigo were all rumoured to be interested in signing Mido, with Atlético's interest being confirmed by their Technical Director Toni Muñoz. Meanwhile, Mido was caught speeding on the way to Marseille's game against Monaco, which resulted in a court hearing. Reports suggested Roma were ready to sign Mido for a fee of €9 million even though Mido would be out injured for the rest of the French football season. Turkish side Beşiktaş revealed they wanted to sign him, and Mido said he was to have talks with Bobby Robson about a possible move to Newcastle United.
Mido eventually signed for Roma on the final day of the 2004 summer transfer window, for a fee of €6 million, signing a five-year contract. It was confirmed that he would miss the opening game of the season, and possibly the following two games. Mido was penciled in to make his Roma debut against Messina in September 2004, a game in which he did actually play, but Roma lost 4–3. Reports suggested that Mido could be sold to Valencia in a swap deal with Bernardo Corradi and was also linked with a move to Premier League side Manchester City. Southampton were believed to have had Mido on their shortlist of targets, but his agent Christophe Henrotay said Roma would not be willing to let Mido leave the club. It was even reported that he had been offered to Southampton on loan but his new agent, Mino Raiola, repeated the earlier claims that Roma wanted to keep Mido until, at least, the end of the season. He was linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, with his agent confirming he wanted a move away from Roma.