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Instability is damaging Egyptian football, says Germany's Zobel Gouna's German coach says players distracted from training by ongoing political conflict
Gouna coach Rainer Zobel revealed on Thursday thatpolitical unrest in Egypt is distracting his players from training. Egyptian domestic competitions have been suspended since the army toppled elected president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July following mass protests against his rule. "Gouna [on the Red Sea coast] is away from the security instability and life goes on, but you don't see windsurfers and tourists there now," Zobel told German agency DPA. "It's not difficult for me to witness these circumstances, while I see Gouna's players concentrating on the political news more than training," he added. "I feel safe in Gouna as Egyptian people love football despite the current political saga." The Egyptian Premier League is expected to kick off on 15 October but the 64-year-old coach believes it won't start on schedule. "Egyptian football is still suffering from the suspension … More foreign and local players have decided to play outside the country." "I will stay in Egypt and my family will visit me there as I feel safe in Gouna and I don't have any fears there." Gouna have officially unveiled Rainer Zobel as their new coach to replace Anwar Salama, who was sacked following a string of poor results in April. Zobel had previous stints in Egypt, guiding Ahly to two league titles in 1998 and 1999. He also took charge of Ittihad of Alexandria in 2002, and ENPPI in 2006 but failed to make a notable impact. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at@AO Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/80266.aspx
