Zamalek showed Hollmann the door after a string of poor results but suffered more misery following his departure.

Interim coach Ahmed Refaat couldn't help Zamalek climb out of their crisis as they suffered two league defeats under his guidance to slip to seventh place in the table.

Now Zamalek are holding talks with Michel, who is managing South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns, over a possible return to the Cairo giants.

"The club will settle on the new coach on Monday evening," the Zamalek source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FilGoal.com.

"Our negotiations with Michel reached an advanced stage. He could become the new Zamalek manager."

Another Stint

Many Zamalek fans would be happy to see Michel return at the helm, despite his acrimonious exit in August 2007.

The 61-year-old abruptly left Zamalek while the team were holding their pre-season camp.

At that time, Michel blamed Zamalek's board handling of the team for his departure.

He took charge of Morocco afterwards but was sacked after the team suffered a first-round exit from the African Cup of Nations.

Under Michel, Zamalek had a relatively satisfying campaign in the second half of the 2006/2007 season.

They were close to defeating arch-rivals Ahli in the Egyptian Cup final.

But despite having the lead for three times, Zamalek suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to the Red Devils after extra time.