Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Mido has hailed Omar Marmoush’s "strong character" and "patience" as the Egyptian international embarks on a new journey in his career at Manchester City.
Just two days after his arrival at the Etihad Stadium from Eintracht Frankfurt, Marmoush, 25, made his debut for City on Saturday, starting in their 3-1 Premier League victory over Chelsea.
Manager Pep Guardiola said Marmoush made “incredible movements” during the game, while star forward Erling Haaland said “you could see he has something special” when discussing the Egyptian’s first-half performance that saw him make multiple shots on target, including a disallowed goal.
Marmoush had an explosive start to the season with Frankfurt, scoring 20 goals and 14 assists in 26 appearances for the German club across competitions.
But long before this landmark campaign, the Cairene had made an early impression on Mido, who coached a 17-year-old Marmoush at Wadi Degla, giving him his first taste of first-team football back in 2016.
“From the very first day I saw Omar, I knew he’s got something different,” Mido, who boasts Roma and Ajax among his former clubs and also won 51 caps for Egypt as a striker, told The National.
“From the first couple of weeks of interacting with him, I could see that he has the mentality of a real professional. He is well-educated and it’s very important for a football player to be educated. He worked on himself and developed very quickly.
“I changed his position. He was a left winger and I’m the first person to play him as a striker and I gave him the confidence to play in the [Egyptian Premier] league. From day one you could see he is different – different as a player and different as a person. A strong personality, very well-mannered and respectful.
“Right now, he is reaping the rewards of all the effort he has put in over the years and the concentration and discipline he adopted throughout his career and I’m honestly very proud of him.”
After a year playing for Mido at Wadi Degla, Marmoush signed for German club Wolfsburg age 18. It took him three years before he broke into the first team, making his Bundesliga debut in May 2020, and he went through loan stints at then second-division side St Pauli and Stuttgart before he was scooped up by Frankfurt in the summer of 2023.
Almost nine years after Mido handed him his first-team debut, and having paid his dues across multiple divisions in Germany, Marmoush has now found a new home at Manchester City, with the English champions making him their €70 million-plus signature signing in the January transfer window.
“It shows you his real character, that he’s got a strong character and he works on himself. He has patience,” Mido said of Marmoush’s arduous path to the Premier League.
“These early stages, I lived through it, and it’s very hard. It’s hard to adapt in the beginning, and to be alone while all your friends are on their summer vacation and you’re at pre-season training.
“People need to understand that these young players, to reach where they have reached, they have worked really hard, they really suffered, and they sacrificed so much in order to play football at an elite level.
“So [Mohamed] Salah and Marmoush and [Mohamed] Elneny and all the players who have played at that level, they worked really hard. They need to be the true examples for our youth.
“Every parent should tell their children to look up to these players and to dream and to work on their dream. I believe that Egypt and the Arab world as a whole should capitalise on the success of these players by using them as examples for our kids.
“The parents should speak to their children about these success stories, not necessarily for their children to become footballers, but to talk about these success stories in general and show them how they have to put goals and targets for themselves, how they have to believe in themselves, that they have to fight. That should be a target for every father and mother out there.”
Last year, City became the first club in the history of English football to win four top-flight titles in a row, but their chances of a fifth consecutive Premier League crown are slim as they lie fourth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Liverpool.
Marmoush is joining their ranks at a time of struggle – at least by their own standards – and while Mido believes City is the right place for his compatriot to develop, he admits acclimating to a new team is always easier during periods of success.
“No, it’s not good for him of course,” said Mido when asked if there could be less pressure on Marmoush joining a team that is struggling as opposed to previous years when the club was dominant.
“One of the most important factors that can help you adapt quickly is that you’re joining a team that is already doing well. It’s better if you’re joining a team that is winning so you can adapt quickly; they will help you. Because there’s a big difference between people working under pressure and people working without pressure.
“But on the other hand, it could be a chance for him to play and contribute right away.”
Mido says Marmoush “has got the pace” and can benefit a great deal from playing for Pep Guardiola but added: “My only concern is that Manchester City are expecting to find out the verdict in their case [of alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules] pretty soon, in February I think, and they are awaiting an important decision.
“So the only concern I have for Omar is if the verdict comes out against City. Because if that happens, it will be a difficult situation for the club. There could be deduction points, or the threat of relegation or things like that. I really hope that doesn’t happen.”
Marmoush can be utilised in multiple positions up front but he says he is most comfortable playing behind the main striker. He started on the left side of City's attack on Saturday, alongside Haaland and Phil Foden, and hewill likely continue to be used on either flank at his new club.
“My only advice to him is to listen to Guardiola. To enjoy working with one of the best coaches in the world and to learn from him,” said Mido.
“The tempo of the game in the Premier League is higher than anywhere else. So to pick up the rhythm quickly, that’s the most important thing.”
City have a crucial stretch of games coming up as they face Club Brugge in a must-win clash in the Uefa Champions League on Wednesday before Premier League games against Arsenal (second in the table), Newcastle (fifth), Liverpool (first), Tottenham (15th) and Nottingham Forest (third).
“I think they’re having their worst season in years and they need to find a way out. They need to sign the right players. They’re starting with Marmoush, which is a good thing,” said Mido.
“The problem they’re facing is that this situation is a new thing for Guardiola. He’s used to being always on top, fighting for the title. And now this is a new situation and you can see by his reactions and his attitude with people around him, you could easily see that he’s not used to the situation.”
Marmoush, and fellow new City signings Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov, cannot play against Brugge on Wednesday due to Uefa squad registration rules, but could come back into the fold against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
