He started his football career in 1938, became a regular player in Zamalek's starting lineup in 1942, he won with the team 17 titles. Bastan was Zamalek and Egypt's captain for several years, he was nicknamed the "Black Rock".[4] After retiring from football, he coached Egypt with Mohamed El-Guindi in the 1962 African Cup of Nations, and Egypt won the silver medal.
Early life
Hanafy Bastan was born on 6 January 1922 in Sayyidah Zainab District, Cairo. He learned football skills by playing in Housh Ayoub Bey in Sayyeda Zeinab neighborhood. He was the captain of the primary school, then the middle school, and finally the Saidia Secondary School. Mahmoud Badr El-Din, who was working as a coach at the time, saw him in one of their matches, and he joined the Zamalek youth team in 1937.
Playing career
Club career
Bastan (second standing from right) with Zamalek in 1952
Bastan's first official match with Zamalek was against Al Ahly in the 1941–42 Cairo League, and Zamalek won 6-0, with Bastan shining as a center back in the Cairo derby, he quickly became a key player in the team. He won seven titles of the Egypt Cup with Zamalek (1941, 1943, 1944, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1958). He won with Zamalek ten titles of the Cairo League titles (1939–40, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53).
He played his first international game with the Egypt national football team in 1945 and participated in the London tournament in the same year. Bastan played 56 international matches and scored 16 goals for his country. He was a part of the team that participated in the 1948 Olympic Games in London. He also was a part of the team that participated in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. He played for his country in the 1951 Mediterranean Games in Alexandria, where the hosts finished with a silver medal. He won the gold medal with Egypt in the first Arab Games in 1953.[6]
After his retirement, he worked as coach in Zamalek, he also coached Egypt with his long time friend Mohamed El-Guindi in the 1962 African Cup of Nations, and Egypt finished second. Afterwards, he left coaching career. In the 1960s, Bastan became a senior football adviser in Zamalek, a post which he held until his death in 1995. In Egyptian Cinema, Bastan appeared in two films, he co-starred in Talk of the City (Hadeeth Al-Madina Arabic: حديث المدينة) (1964) and Goodbye Forever (Wada'n Ela Al-Abad Arabic: وداعاً إلى الأبد) (1976).[9]
Death
On the evening on November 11, 1995, while Bastan was browsing the evening newspapers, he came across the news of the death of his lifelong friend and companion, Mohamed El-Guindi who died at the same morning. He was shocked by the news and a few hours later, he was rushed to El Safa Hospital in Mohandessin with extremely high blood pressure, where he fell into a deep coma. Doctors desperately tried to save him, but he died on the morning of November 13, 1995.[10]
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