Saleh Selim was the 10th president of the EgyptianAl Ahly Sporting Club. He also was a famous Egyptian football player and actor. He was nicknamed El Maestro because of his way of leading the Al Ahlyfootball team to many victories. He then became the manager of the team, then member of the board of directors of the club. He finally became one of the most successful presidents of the club.
Early life
Saleh was born on September 11, 1930 in Dokki, Giza, and his father is Dr. Mohamed Selim, one of the pioneers of Anesthesiology in Egypt. Selim's father knew his mother, Zein El Sharaf, when she was undergoing surgery at his hospital. He married her and she gave birth to three males. Saleh was the eldest, followed by Abdel Wahab and Tareq. Saleh Selim has been a footballer since childhood. In Dokki, Giza. He joined the Orman junior high school team, then the high school team during his studies at the Saadia school in the same district. In 1944 he joined the junior ranks of Al Ahly club after being discovered by Mr. Hassan Kamel, supervisor of the club's team. He quickly succeeded in proving his presence and talent, and was promoted to the first team at the age of seventeen. He played his first game in front of the Al Masry club in 1948, and Al Ahly won two goals to one with Saleh scoring the winning goal. Though his first official game was against in Alexandria in the third week of the Egyptian league championship season of 1948 and Al Ahly achieved victory.
Career
Selim joined Al Ahly club in 1944 as a football player. Later, he became the club's football team manager, then a member of the board of directors. Due to the fame he gained as a football player, Saleh was dragged into show business and starred in three movies. He co-starred 1962 film titled "Black Candles" with Nagat El-Sagheera who sang in it her widely known song "Do not lie". In 1980, he was elected the president of the club. He was then re-elected five successive times. During his presidency, Al-Ahly was elected the African club of the century. On May 22, 2001 Saleh received the award in Johannesburg. He died in 2002 of liver cancer. Saleh Selim was the first Egyptian soccer player in Austria and it was a "transfer-sensation" when he joined Grazer AK and scored 3 goals in 6 championship-games for the oldest Styrian football club during the 1962–63 season.
Selim was born in Cairo in 1930. His father Mohamed Selim was a renowned physician. He had two younger brothers, Abdelwahab and Tariq Selim. He also has two sons Khaled and Hisham Selim who is an actor.
