Zamalek's board of directors have agreed to sack Hossam Hassan following a meeting held on Thursday at noon after a string of disappointing results, with a foreign candidate tipped to replace him on the bench.
Speculation started after Zamalek lost the Egyptian Super Cup to Al Ahly (5-4 on a penalty shootout). Mortada Mansour – Zamalek's chairaman – criticized Hossam for his tactics in fielding Omar Gaber, Ahmed Tawfik and only playing with one striker upfront, only for him to renew confidence in Hossam later on.
Hossam Hassan's side started their league campaign with a 6-1 thrashing of Tala'a el-gaish on gameweek two, only for them to draw against Ittihad El-Shorta in the third round, and again draw against Dahkleya this week; settling for 10th position in the standings and grabbing only 5 points from their first three encounters.
The former Al Ahly and Zamalek striker took over from Ahmed Hossam ‘Mido' for a second spell at the club, after finishing second place during the 2010/2011 Egyptian Premier League season and qualifying to final of the Egyptian Cup, before losing to ENPPI in his first spell.
45-year-old Portuguese manager Paulo Jorge Rebelo Duarte is the tipped candidate to fill in the void left by the former Egypt international on Zamalek's bench, with Duarte coaching Burkina Faso and Gabon's national teams previously.
However, Mohamed Salah has been named as the interim coach to fill the position temporarily.
