Player Profile: Walid Soliman

Designed by Mohaned Ghanem

Name: Walid Soliman
Date of Birth: December 1, 1984
Height: 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Nationality: Egyptian
Current Club: Al Ahly SC
Previous Club(s): Haras El-Hodood, El-Gouna, Petrojet, Al Ahli Jeddah, ENPPI
Position: Attacking Midfielder – Winger
Foot: Left

Click here for the latest on Walid Soliman.

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Al Ahly’s electric midfielder, Walid Soliman, joined from ENPPI in August 2011 for a record fee of EGP 8million. Well known for his pace, dribbling skills and finishing ability, Soliman is regarded as one of Egypt’s most talented players – yet to succeed on the international stage.

Background

Soliman’s professional career started with Haras El-Hodood in 2004, before moving to Egypt’s second tier with El-Gouna the following year. He helped lead Gouna to finish top of their group, but failed to achieve promotion to the Egyptian Premier League after losing in the final stage of qualifying that season.

He signed for Petrojet in 2006 where he spent four years, featuring in 70 games for them and scoring 19 goals. However, in January 2009, he moved to Al Ahli Jeddah on a six-month loan. He only featured in six games for them due to various injuries, but did manage to score once for the Saudi side. In 2010, Soliman joined ENPPI after playing one last season with Petrojet, but finally moved to his current club, Al Ahly, the following season.

Walid Soliman was at the core of Al Ahly’s successful back-to-back African Champions League campaigns, but he is yet to win the league with the Red Devils due to the regular suspension of the tournament. The attacking midfielder is yet to feature in the 2013/2014 season due to an injury he picked up at the last game of the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.

Walid was handed his international debut by Hassan Shehata against Sudan on November 16, 2007. 3 years and 9 caps later, Soliman scored his first international goal – against Qatar. Once Bob Bradley took charge of the Egyptian national team, Walid Soliman was a regular member of the squad.

Style of Play

Soliman’s natural talent seems to be accelerating consistently. He always loves to take-on an opponent with his trickery and immense pace, and is also gifted with great vision used to deliver some well-crafted assists. Being left-footed, Walid often features on the left of the midfield for Al Ahly, and is much more effective from this position and is often a nightmare for full-backs. He loves to hug the byline, providing service to strikers just as his marker thinks he’s gone out of play. However, Walid needs to work on his stamina and physique, but his skill overshadows his flaws.

Last updated on March 21, 2014.

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Pros:

– Great dribbling skills.
– Pace and acceleration.
– Powerful left-foot.
– Good vision and distribution.

Cons:

– Lacks physical strength.
– Greedy at times.
– Low stamina.
– Injury prone.

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It’s not everyday a footballer has a music video dedicated to their name…

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