Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player ever to participate at the Africa Cup of Nations after he was introduced in the match against Mali on Tuesday.
El-Hadary, is the captain of the Pharaos recorded his 148 appearances for his country and he recently turned 44 on Sunday.
The former FC Sion of Switzerland goalie is a four-time winner of the nations cup beating the previous mark set by his fellow Egyptian Hossam Hassan, who was a mere 39 years, five months and 24 days old when he played at the 2006 Cup of Nations.
He was chosen as the best goalkeeper in the 2006 African Cup of Nations, held in homeland Egypt and in the 2008 African Cup of Nations, held in Ghana and he was the best goalkeeper for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, held in Angola.
In January 2013 his agent tweeted that El-Hadary had retired from international football after being benched for a run of games. He retires as the 23rd most capped international player in history and also the player with most African Cup of Nations titles. But he left his retirement and returned to play against Bosnia Herzegovina at March 5, 2014.
El-Hadary spent most of his career in his homeland, Egypt with several clubs Al-Ahly, Ismaily, Zamalek et al.
