Mido apologises for Ajax outburst

Egyptian striker Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam has backtracked on criticism he made last week of his club Ajax Amsterdam and has apologised to officials for his outburst.

His hasty retraction came after Ajax coach Ronald Koeman threatened to kick the 19-year-old forward out of the team.

Mido told a television interviewer that he was sure to leave Ajax during the winter break in December after Koeman pulled him off just half an hour into a recent win at Groningen.

He has now gone back on his threat, but was slapped with a fine and left out of Ajax's squad for their first Uefa Champions league match against Lyon of France, which the Dutch club won 2-1 on Tuesday night.

The fine is the second for the striker in the space of 24 hours, having also been hit by the Egypt FA for failing to turn up to the Pharaoh's African Nations Cup qualifier with Madagascar.

The young Egyptian is quickly building a reputation for cryptic remarks.

"In Egypt, we have a saying: 'In order to become a star, you mustn't become like water'," he said in a recent interview.

"Water is something very ordinary but if you want to achieve any high goals, you must now and then be noticed.

"You can't behave like the rest."