Mido back in action ..

BORO beat Carlisle United 2-1 with goals from Jeremie Aliadiere and a screamer from Didier Digard, writes SAM LOUGHRAN at Brunton Park.
Mido started his first game since he saw red in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal at The Emirates last season .. more details

Mido Can't Wait For Season Start ..download Mido's interview

MIDO is relishing being back in pre-season training and believes the 2008/09 campaign will be a marked improvement on last year, not only for himself, but also for the club.
The Egyptian striker has foregone what for many are usual summer activities and focussed his time on getting back fit for Boro, something he felt was necessary.
"I've been doing a lot of hard work with Nick Allamby and he has done a great job with me, we were training twice-a-day, every morning and afternoon for fitness. It's been a hard four weeks but I needed to come back at a good level of fitness.
"I chose to build on my fitness ahead of anything else, we had a baby in the summer but my holiday, I put that to one side to work with Nick and get back to full fitness.
Mido admits that he is delighted to be back in training with the team, especially after such a personally frustrating season for the former Ajax hitman.
"I've been looking forward to it all summer and I'm happy that we're all back and under way now. Though it was frustrating for me not be be in Portugal.
"Everyone knows that last season everything was out of my hands, I was injured and fighting injury all season. When I did get back to play I wasn't fit and was back injured again."

Upon his return to Rockliffe Park along with the rest of the squad, new fitness coach Frank Nuttall was introduced to the team and Mido feels that although the type of work differs from what he's used to, it will only go on to benefit the club.
"It is hard work, it's different work but he's been doing well with us and hopefully we will get used to his style of training because it's very different from last year.
"We were one of the fittest sides in the division last season and it's credit to the staff here and the manager wants everything to be even better this season."
Looking ahead to the new season, the Cairo-born frontman believes Boro have all the firepower necessary with which to push up the league and feels the competition for places is necessary for the club.
"Jeremie Aliadiere, Afonso Alves and Tuncay are all good strikers, they're different players, but I'm sure I can fit with all of them as I have the experience and I can adapt myself to the way my partner is playing.
"It's the way Premier League sides are now, all four of us offer something different and it will give different options and credits for the manager to play with.
"I want to help the side get into Europe. A top 10 would be a reasonable target for us and to achieve that would be great."
In closing, Mido had a message for the Boro fans.
"I hope the fans understand what happened to me last season and this season I have done everything possible to make myself fit for the club and now I'm just waiting for the season to start.

Mido's interview : Download

- vedio from Mido4ever.com

Middlesbrough star Mido: I'm no fatso!

Slimmed-down Mido has insisted Middlesbrough will see the best of him this season.
The £6million striker has shed two stone and is down to his fighting weight of 14 stone after cancelling his summer holidays for double fitness sessions.
The Egyptian spent a month in Cairo with a fitness expert who put him through running sessions in the morning and weight and strength training in the 40C afternoon heat.
Mido received some flak from Boro fans after looking out of shape towards the end of the season.
That was put down to an unusual pubic bone injury that has cleared up and allowed Mido to report back ready for action... almost.
He is training with the reserves on Teesside after a visa problem left him unable to travel to Southgate's training camp in Portugal this week.

Mido said: "I have made sure I've got back to a good level of fitness.
"The heat was 40c but every day we worked hard on conditioning.
"Sometimes I would have no pain and start training again, only for it to come back. I have done everything possible to be fit.
"Now I want to get better luck and score some goals."

Amr Zaki : I've come to England to score goals

Egypt striker Amr Zaki joined Wigan on Tuesday in a season-long loan deal from Cairo side Zamalek.
The 25-year-old Zaki has scored 27 goals in 48 international appearances.
"I've come to England to score goals,'' he said. "That's what I do. I want to show the manager and the fans of Wigan that they have made a good choice and now I am totally focused on trying to get in the squad and prove myself here.''
Wigan manager Steve Bruce said it took a lot of work bringing Zaki to the Premier League.
"Anyone with a one-in-two strike-rate or better over 50-odd international games knows where the back of the net is,'' Bruce said. "He is all action, physically powerful, great in the air, with two great feet and a good turn of pace.''

Mido explains absence

Middlesbrough striker Mido has revealed his absence from the club’s pre-season trip to Portugal is due to visa problems.
The Egypt international, who missed the major part of last season due to injury, has been prevented from making the trip to the Algarve and will miss the friendly with Celtic.

"I would like Boro supporters to know why I am not in the team for this evening's game in Portugal against Celtic,” Mido said.
"There have been ongoing problems regarding my visa, which I hope to have sorted shortly.
"It could be that the Portuguese embassy require up to a week to amend this situation, thus preventing my ability to travel to Portugal in the very immediate future."

Southgate : Mido give himself a good opportunity

BORO boss Gareth Southgate believes fit-again Mido and Robert Huth will be like two new signings next season.
The international duo missed big chunks of last term with respective pubic bone and foot injuries but worked hard on their own over the summer to get into top shape.
Mido lost around 10 kilos in a strict regime with Boro conditioning coach Nick Allamby back home in Egypt and is already looking sharp in training alongside Huth.
Southgate said: “Huth and Mido will be like two new signings. Rob, we saw for a spell last season, is an outstanding player and Mido as well. That’s why I’m quite comfortable about the way that we are going to progress.
“We feel with the group of players that we’ve got that we can achieve more than we achieved last year.”
Both players made their last Boro appearances in the 1-1 draw at Arsenal in March.
Mido - who recently rejected a return to former club Zamalek - was sent off for a high challenge on Gael Clichy, while Huth played no further part in Boro’s 13th-place finish after aggravating his foot injury.
Southgate has been impressed by striker Mido’s attitude in the off-season.
“He has shown a real desire to come back in a condition that gives him a chance going forward into pre-season,” he said. “We are pleased with that attitude and he has given himself a good opportunity.”
And he says Boro will box clever with German defender Huth to give him every chance of regular football after an injury-interrupted time on Teesside.
“What we’ve got to do is monitor his training and see if it is right for him to do every session and the type of work that he does.
“I’m not someone who insists on every player taking part in every football session. You’ve got to be sensible and it will be a huge boost for us if he is fit and raring to go for the start of the season.”
George Boateng is now expected to complete his move to Premier League new boys Hull City on Monday for a fee of around £1m.
The 32-year-old has reportedly agreed personal terms and his agent Barry Silkman said: “He just thinks that maybe it is the right time to move on.”
Boro are also hoping Matthew Bates will be able to step up the intensity of his training over the next month as he fights back from his third cruciate knee ligament injury.
“He is progressing well,” added Southgate. “We wouldn’t put a definite date on him returning to full training but we hope towards the end of pre-season that he will be starting to join in more with the rest of the lads.”

Mido rules out Zamalek return

Mido revealed that Zamalek contacted him last month, but insisted that he is not planning on leaving the Premiership to return to his former club in the near future.
"Mamdouh Abbas contacted me a month ago and I asked him to talk to my club, but nothing more happened," the Middlesbrough striker told Modern Sport TV.
"I love Zamalek and there is a chance I can return in the future, but I am not ready to do that in the mean time."
Mido is currently preparing for the new season with Boro in an attempt to regain his fitness, following last season's injury problems.
The 25-year-old spent most of the 2007-2008 campaign on the sidelines, due to a series of injuries that wretched his first season at the Riverside.

Southgate : Mido is a lean machine

WITH Mido and Robert Huth returning to fitness plus two outstanding new talents recruited, Gareth Southgate is delighted with his squad - but there could still be one or two further signings.
There was a definite air of increased optimism among the players as they began pre-season training with new boys Marvin Emnes and Didier Digard immediately looking the part.And the formidable presence of a sleek and powerful looking Mido and German international defender Robert Huth in the main group added further grounds for hope for the new season.
"Mido's been working with one of our fitness coaches in Egypt for four weeks during the summer," Southgate revealed. "That was something he organised for himself and he's come back in good condition.

Mido - New Look , New Start ..Mido new pics at Egypt

Mido lose an incredible weight

Mido - fitter and better .. Mido is now fully recovered after his hernia operation and will rejoin his team-mates for full training from Monday.

"He's been away in Egypt working hard throughout the whole summer and he'll be rejoining us hopefully as a fit player," said head of medical, Grant Downie.

More Mido pics :

pics from Mido fans