Swiss Marcel Koller has been appointed as Al Ahly’s new coach, ending rumours of Pitso Mosimane’s possible return to the sleeping Egyptian football gurus.
The former CAF Champions League kings have released a statement confirming the hiring of the former Australia national football team coach.
“We are delighted to announce that Marcel Koller will be our new manager for the next two years,” the statement reads.
“The coach will arrive in Cairo on Saturday with his three assistants to start his mission with The Red Eagles.”
KOLLER’S BRIEF HISTORY
Koller is aged 61 and made history during his six-year coaching tenure with Austria, winning 23 of 54 games in charge.
The veteran coach guided Austria to the 2016 European Championship which was the first major tournament that Austria had qualified since making it to the 1998 World Cup.
He spent his entire playing career at FC Grasshoppers back home in Switzerland before going to manage clubs in the Bundesliga among others.
Koller has replaced Portuguese Ricardo Soares who was sacked two weeks ago after Al Ahly finished on a disappointing third place on the Egyptian Premier League log table.
NO PITSO RETURN
It was the first time in 30 years that Al Ahly finished on a position outside the top two on the log table.
Soares’ dismissal heightened rumours of the return of Mosimane who resigned in June this year ending some two months laden with trophies.
The South Africa delivered two CAF Champions League titles in three attempts, plus FIFA Club World Cup two bronze medals and other pieces of domestic silverware.
However, in Ahly management’s own admission, Mosimane became a target of a campaign which some Al Ahly legends championed.
The legends who included Wael Goma took advantage of every Al Ahly slip up to criticize Mosimane’s tactics.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns’ departure and Soares’ coming was expected to turn things around but results never improved.
Mosimane is on a sabbatical back home in South Africa and spends his free time conducting coaching clinics.
