(Photo from Juan Carlos Garrido)
Following their African Champions League knockout, Al-Ahly’s Spanish coach Juan Carlos Garrido was replaced with national coach Fathy Mabrouk, who will resume Wednesday from where he left off a year ago.
A penalty shootout against Moroccan side Moghreb Tetuán, where Al-Ahly made the early exit from the continent’s most prestigious club competition, subsequently shifting to the Confederation Cup, was the last action for Garrido as the team’s coach. It follows pressure from the fans, who prior to the match made it clear that the choices were “a win or exit”, forced the club’s administration to seek replacement.
Al-Ahly opted first for former team coach, the National U-23 team coach Hossam El-Badry, who initially agreed to fill the vacancy. An agreement between the club and the football association, however, fell through.
The club then turned to crisis coach Mabrouk, who led the team twice before, in 2003, after sacking Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere, and in 2014 to replace Mohamed Youssef, managing to secure a cup and a league titles.
On Wednesday, Al-Ahly, sitting in third place on the league table, will play against the relegation zone team Al-Nasr. Mabrouk promised the big Cairo club’s fans that the team will compete for the league title, despite the 11 points gap with the table’s leaders Zamalek SC.
