Career
He played club football in his homeland with El Ahly between 1973 and 1991. He is considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers in Egyptian football. His name "El-Batal" is the name of his family
The career of Thabet El-Batal evolved from the team in his neighborhood, the First Rate (at Lloyd's) Hawmdia.
El-Batal became the El Ahly guard, formally beginning with the 1974/1975 season and succeeded in winning his championship year for the first time after successive victories and titles, both continental and Egyptian.
He was one of the major players in the emergence of the club in Africa. Internationally, he made his first appearance as a team to Egypt in 1974 and spent 16 years.
In 2004, he then became the technical director of El Ahly. Thabet El-Batal died in February 2005, after a long battle with cancer.