Mido sacked as Zamalek coach after derby loss to Ahly

Zamalek dismissed coach Ahmed ‘Mido’ Hossam after the team’s 2-0 loss to Ahly in the Cairo derby on Tuesday.

The former Tottenham striker was named as Zamalek coach in December; replacing Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta who was shown the door for some poor results.

“Coaches always take the blame, and this is natural. I was just sad because the players looked afraid against Ahly,” Mido told Nile Sports after Tuesday’s match, which took place at Alexandria’s Borg El-Arab Stadium. 

“Defensive naivety cost us the first goal when we were actually the better side. We successfully closed down spaces against Ahly in the first half.”

Although Zamalek won their first four matches under Mido, they were still criticised for lacklustre displays.

Mido, who led Zamalek to the Egypt Cup title in 2014 but lost the league to rivals Ahly in his previous spell in charge, came in for further criticism following a 1-1 draw with Smouha which was followed by a 1-0 defeat by Ismaily last week.

Assistant coach Mohamed Salah will replace Mido as an interim coach. He will be Zamalek’s fourth manager this season after Jesualdo Ferreira, Marcos Paqueta and Mido.

The Defending champions are second in the league table with 31 points, seven behind leaders Ahly after 16 matches.