'Poor Zamalek team has no soul’ – Ahmed Mido

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Monday Mar 19, 2018. 18:00

Former Zamalek striker and coach Ahmed Hossam ‘Mido’ has expressed his disappointment after the White Knights failed to reach the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup.

The 2016 CAF Champions League finalists lost to Ethiopian side Welayta Dicha on penalties in their second leg first round clash this past weekend.

Mido believes the Egyptian Premier League side lost to an amateur side who did not know how to pass the ball properly.

“What happened during the match was a complete joke! Welayta Dicha is the worst team Zamalek has ever faced in the history. With all respect, they are not a football club, they are an amateur team,” said Mido.

“Welayta Dicha players do not even know how to pass the ball properly. This team would have been classified as a third-division team in Egypt.

“This is not Zamalek! There is not a single player in this team deserves the money he gets paid. The team has no soul, spirit or personality. As a fan, I would never pay anything to watch these players on the pitch.”

On the team’s formation, the former Whites coach stated that there were many technical errors.

“Despite the terrible performance in the first half, they players managed to obtain an imaginary penalty in the last few seconds of the first half,” he added.

“The timing of this opportunity would give any team the motive and push to play much better in the remaining time of the match.

“There are many technical mistakes in the coach’s game plan. Moreover, Zamalek was deprived of his fans, as the club board decided to move the game to Cairo, allowing only the board members to attend the match.”