The Departed in Egyptian Football

الإثنين، 06 أغسطس 2007 - 13:54

كتب : Hatem Maher

French manager Henri Michel joined a long list that includes foreign coaches who suddenly handed in their resignation or were subjected to a shocking sacking in Egyptian football.

Most of the Egyptian teams experienced such incidents and several of them even had more than two coaches in just one season.

FilGoal.com brings you some of these names who were not able to continue in their posts for long.

Theo Bucker:

After a relatively successful spell with Ismaili, though trophyless, Zamalek appointed German boss Theo Bucker to take charge of the club in 2005 in a bid to make up for the disastrous preceding season.

In the 2004/2005 season, the then defending champions finished sixth in the Egyptian League table, their worst position since being established in 1911.

Bucker's start with Zamalek in the CAF Champions League was not so promising after the men in white were held to three successive draws in the group stage, two of them at home against Esperance and Etoile Sahel of Tunisia.

However, Zamalek then came from behind to earn a 2-1 away victory over Esperance in a breathtaking match, the win which moved them close to booking a place in the competition's semis.

The hard-fought victory boosted Zamalek fans' morale ahead of the new season and the whites' faithful were waiting for more in the Egyptian League.

But their hopes suffered a blow after Ittihad Ghanaian striker Samuel Kyere scored four minutes from time to help the Alexandria-based club claim a 1-1 away draw against Zamalek and deny the hosts a victory in the league opener.

Despite the fact that it was just the first match in the league, Zamalek board sacked Bucker immediately afterwards in a shocking decision.

"Although I was the one who brought Bucker to Zamalek, it has become clear that he was not suitable for the team's managerial position," the then Zamalek chairman Mortada Mansour said.

"He was involved in many problems with the players and also committed many technical mistakes during his short stay."

Hans Dieter Schmidt:

Hans Dieter Schmidt was appointed by Ismaili as their new manager in May 2005, to succeed Turkish boss Muhsin Ertugal who was sacked after a string of poor results.

The German coach, who had a successful spell with Egyptian side Al-Baladeya in 1994, penned a one-year contract to help the club regain their competitiveness in the local, African and Arab competitions.

"I can't promise leading Ismaili to any title this season because I'm not a magician but I will do my best to build a good team," he told a press conference when he was unveiled.

"I formed a general idea about the players but need more time to find out the team's needs for the upcoming season."

However, he was never granted any time.

Schmidt demanded the release of 10 regular players, but Ismaili’s board turned down his request as their relationship began to deteriorate.

A 3-1 friendly defeat to second division side Maleyet Kafr Al-Zayat was the straw that broke the camel's back and the board decided to relieve Schmidt of his duties, before even playing any official match!

Arie Haan:

Cairo powerhouse Ahli named Dutchman Arie Haan as their new boss in June 2002, replacing the team's current hero Manuel Jose.

However, just a few days after making the official announcement, Ahli have surprisingly called off the deal without revealing any reasons for doing so.

It was alleged that Ahli decided to pull out of his deal because he was a Jew and visited Israel several times to show his support for the Jewish state.

Mark Wotte:

In June 2006, Dutch manager Mark Wotte replaced Bucker as Ismaili's head coa

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