CAIRO: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has sent a cable of congratulations to Egypt’s captain Ahmed Hassan, congratulating him on becoming the most capped international in world football.

He now has 180 international caps, two more than Saudi Arabia’s veteran goalkeeper Mohamed el-Deayiea who turned out 178 times for his country.

Hassan, who was born in 1975, broke the world record when he participated in the Egypt-Niger friendly held in Qatar on February 29.

“I am happy with what I have achieved, but this happiness is marred by the Port Said tragedy,” says the 36-year-old, one of Egypt’s most consistent performers since making his senior team debut in 1995.

Hassan has led the Egyptian national team to four African Cup of Nations titles-  in 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010. Twice he was voted the tournament’s best player.

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