"The board met today with Hollmann and decided to terminate his contract," Zamalek's interim chairman Mohamed Amer said in a statement on Friday.

The Cairo giants' decision to dispense with Hollmann came quicker than expected.

A board member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FilGoal.com earlier this week that Hollmann would be given a last chance when Zamalek face Harras Hodoud in Monday's league game.

But Zamalek believed the 59-year-old tactician had nothing new to offer.

"We fully appreciate the work he has done here but, unfortunately, he wasn't lucky," Amer added.

Football director Ahmed Refaat is expected to take over at the club on a temporary basis.

Disappointing Spell

Hollmann, a former coach of Zamalek's arch-rivals Ahli, was appointed in the summer following the resignation of Ruud Krol.

His start was not so promising, with Zamalek losing two successive games against Ahli in the Egyptian Super Cup and the CAF Champions League.

Things went from bad to worse when Zamalek were eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals after finishing bottom of Group A.

They almost lost hopes of competing for the league title, which they last won in 2004, after suffering three defeats in their first 11 games.

Zamalek have not won a league match since defeating ENPPI 4-1 on October 21st, scoring just one goal in the following four encounters.