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By Alaa Shahine
CAIRO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Thousands of Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo dancing, singing and waving flags on Sunday after the national football team won the African Nations Cup for a record sixth time.
Fans hugged each other on the streets chanting "Egypt, Egypt" as cars honked their horns, bringing traffic in several neighbourhoods of the busy capital to a standstill.
"I cannot describe my feelings," said 35-year-old Mohamed Abdel-Azim, carrying an Egyptian flag. "This is the happiest day for me in a very long time."
Egypt won the title for a second successive time after a much-deserved 1-0 victory over four-times champions Cameroon in the final in Ghana's capital, Accra.
"The Pharaohs are kings of Africa," read the main headline on Egypt's most popular sports Web site (www.Filgoal.com).
Television stations ran songs celebrating the victory and heaped praise over players and coach Hassan Shehata, who guided the team to the title at home in 2006. One anchor stood up and danced to folkloric music on live television after the match.
"Who cannot dance after such a great achievement!" anchor and football pundit Medhat Shalabi said on Modern Sports television.
The hero of the night was Mohamed Aboutrika, Egypt's most popular footballer who scored the winning goal, but many fans gave credit to Shehata.
"All the credit goes to Hassan Shehata," said 37-year-old Sayyed Abdallah. "This is a great, great achievement for him."
With a squad of mainly home-based players and a lacklustre qualifying campaign, the Egyptians were not among pre-tournament favourites. But they proved critics wrong with a slick South American passing style that helped them overcome tough physical challenges from Ivory Coast in their semi-final and Cameroon.
The successful campaign during the tournament lifted the mood of many Egyptians at home, gaining more media coverage than top world and domestic political news such as the turmoil on the border with the Gaza Strip.
