Charismatic coaches Jose, Hassan lock horns in Cairo derby

Wednesday's Cairo derby pits charismatic coaches Manuel Jose and Hossam Hassan against each other in an interesting showdown

The first Ahly-Zamalek confrontation featuring coaches Manuel Jose and Hossam Hassan is likely to capture the imagination of many, given the far-from-pensive personalities of the charismatic duo.
Two controversial figures to a large extent, Portuguese Jose and Egypt's all-time leading scorer Hassan are getting ready for an exciting duel, with leaders Ahly enjoying a five-point advantage over nearest challengers Zamalek with four matches remaining before the end of the Egyptian Premier League.
Hassan has been widely acclaimed for transmitting his renowned fighting spirit to the players since taking over an ailing Zamalek side in November 2009, giving them every reason to believe that they are capable of challenging Egypt and Africa's undisputed number one club, Ahly, for top accolades.
His motivational methods were evident as a youthful Zamalek side were transformed from a team struggling at the wrong end of the table before Hassan's arrival to a one unsettling Ahly at the top with a series of convincing displays and results, including a handful of comeback wins which that White Knights were never accustomed to.
Jose is equally motivational, having taken charge of Ahly last January after they faltered under his predecessor Hossam El-Badry to re-instill a winning mentality into the players and help them bridge a six-point gap with Zamalek.
The 65-year-old, who is in his third stint with Ahly, earned a cult status among the team's faithful not only through the huge success he achieved at the helm but also his public defense of the club's interests, sometimes in a strongly-worded manner.
“Jose reminds me of Russian monk Grigori Rasputin!” sports pundit Hassan El-Mestekawy said of the highly-successful tactician, who led Ahly to a host of domestic and continental titles during a glorious six-year reign.
“The personality aspects go a long way in determining whether the coach will be successful or not. Jose is a strong and fair coach, and a close friend of his players at the same time.
“What goes through the mind of Jose is much bigger than what goes on in the minds of Ahly players and fans, that's why he is unique in that aspect. Jose's leadership qualities are better than those of Hassan, given the amount of coaching experience he has.”
More credit
Many pundits believe Jose deserves more credit than Hassan for two reasons: how he deals with disciplinary issues and how he refuses to publicly blame his players when they stumble.
Hassan was criticized by media for having a "lenient approach" towards Zamalek star winger Mahmoud Abdel-Razek "Shikabal"' and diminutive right-winger Hazem Emam, who were involved in several disciplinary problems this season.
Shikabala, the league's top scorer with 13 goals, and Emam, who is known for his childish tantrums, eventually came through their notorious actions unscathed.
“Hassan forgot that he was banned for six months in the 1990s despite being Ahly's top scorer when he threw the team's shirt to the ground, the same action that Emam did few days ago,” football critic Alaa Sadek commented.
“Then Ahly football director Tarek Selim came down hard on Hassan, who did not adopt a strict disciplinary code after becoming a coach.”
Jose's brief tenure with Saudi Arabia's Ittihad Jeddah was highlighted by his decision to suspend fans favorite Mohamed Nour for disciplinary reasons.
“Nour was punished by Jose for skipping training, and he remained on the sidelines for a long time for that reason. For Jose, it did not matter whether Nour was a star or not,” El-Mestekawy said.
Hassan, who rarely admits his own technical shortcomings, was also blamed for publicly pointing the finger to his players after Zamalek slumped to a 2-1 loss to Gouna.
Jose, on the other hand, creates a siege mentality by protecting his players, shouldering responsibility for any unpleasant results.
“Any coach must shore up confidence in his players even when they suffer a dip in form,” said Jose, whose re-appointment prompted several Ahly players to phone TV shows and express their delight with his return.
“It is not appropriate to vilify the players or hold them accountable for any defeat.”
Outspoken figures
Jose and Hassan share a notable trait in common - they are outspoken figures who regularly go on the attack, denouncing referees, hitting out at media and criticizing football authorities for arranging "hectic league schedules".
Hassan, whose thoughts are usually filled with the conspiracy theories, accused the media on numerous occasions of doing their best to undermine his work, calling them "spiteful" and vowing to "succeed despite their wishes".
Jose decided to boycott post-match news conferences in April in protest of an Egyptian Football Association decision to fine him EGP 15,000 for declining to attend one of those conferences. His Portuguese assistant Pedro has been speaking on his behalf since.
“The news conferences and the Egyptian FA will be affected by that (Jose's absence), not Jose,” Ahly football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz, who played under the 65-year-old's guidance in the early 2000s, said.
“The conferences will miss the presence of one of the most famous and important managers in the Egyptian Premier League.”