كتب : شريف طارق | الأحد، 15 فبراير 2009 - 19:17

Relegation seems inevitable

Over the past half-decade, things have gone from bad to worse for Zamalek, who are obviously going to wave goodbye to the top-flight for the first time in history by the end of this term.

The Cairo side are witnessing their worst-ever league campaign after slumping to eight defeats midway through the season, and currently they are standing on the verge of the relegation zone.

Unfortunately, the crisis-hit club are literally helpless against their devastating setbacks, and thus demotion is widely believed to be the logical sad end to their catastrophic run.

What makes me pessimistic is that Zamalek have made numerous fundamental changes that should have long ended their recurrent embarrassing losses, but they kept on stumbling instead.

A host of new arrivals couldn't make a slight improvement in the falling-apart team, and a handful of foreign coaches along with their assistants failed to keep them on an even keel.

It also wouldn't be fair to hold the fast-changing board responsible for Zamalek's horrendous status, which has been pretty much the same under the management of more than one chairman.

What's evidently widened the 11-time Egyptian champions' misery this term is that they are no longer imposing in the eye their Egyptian Premier League rivals.

Zamalek used to be a great African powerhouse, and their local opponents would have butterflies in their stomach before clashing with them.

But this term the likes of Olympic, Asyut Petroleum and Ghazl Mahalla stepped onto the pitch without an ounce of fear to take on the five-time African champions and sink them.

The White Knights are simply seen as giants no more, and with several harsh league encounters on the horizon, their chances to stay clear of relegation threat seem quite fragile.

People might be convinced that some teams are above relegation, but that's so untrue, especially for a club whose displays have become something of black comedy.

But the $64, 000 question remains, why can't Zamalek get their act together for so long?

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