The appointment of Ahmed Hossam Mido as Zamalek's head coach at this juncture in time is considered a surprise given Mido's rumoured imminent appointment as head coach of Egyptian club Masri. At the same time, many people consider Mido as lacking the requisite years and experience to be at the helm of a club in Zamalek's stature, especially now as the club passes through difficult times. Mido, on the other hand, is of the opinion that he is more than ready to take on such a step, insisting that he will take Zamalek to a new level and that he knows exactly what the club and its players need in order to perform at the highest level consistently. Mido replaces Helmy Toulan, a highly experienced coach who has managed several Egyptian clubs in the last decade and who has proven a success at most of them until he lost the plot at Zamalek. The decision to hire Mido to train one of the best clubs in Egypt and Africa was far from easy for club officials, who were in contention over the move until Mido was chosen by a majority vote. Zamalek Club board member Ayman Younes said the board was in dispute while discussing Mido's appointment. "Our decisions were split and we had to take votes. Those against the appointment were afraid to take the risk since Mido has no coaching experience, with all respect to his outstanding football career as a player," Younes, a former Zamalek and Egypt defender told Egyptian Radio. “Don't forget, Zamalek is a big club.” The news of Mido's appointment was a shocker to the media, which was also divided over the matter. Sports Critic Ashraf Mahmoud wrote on his Facebook page: "Such a surprise to select Mido, who just retired months ago. Someone who has no training or coaching field experience, not even a coaching certificate, to lead a club like Zamalek." The appointment gained a fair share of international media interest as well. Osasu Obayiuwana of the New African Magazine and a BBC reporter wondered, "Does the Zamalek management know what they're doing? Mido has never managed a club. I don't doubt his knowledge of the game. But managing players, which involves being even tempered, I just don't see that coming from Mido," he told Al-Ahram Weekly. Farayi Mungazi, the sports editor at BBC African Sport, also wrote the following on Facebook: "Believe it or not, but former Egypt striker Mido has been appointed the new coach of Zamalek. I guess the people at Zamalek know something the rest of us don't..." Zamalek fans on the other hand are vastly divided regarding the club's controversial selection. Some of the club's zealous fans claim that, even though they adore Mido and consider him a club legend and one of the best Egyptian players ever, they have their doubts regarding his appointment given his young age and his absolute lack of experience in the field of coaching. Galal Soheil, a Zamalek fan who used to attend every single club game, told the Weekly that he was not so sure it was a wise appointment. According to him, the club has been passing through extremely difficult times in recent years that saw experienced coaches failing one after another, which makes the appointment of someone with no experience all the more baffling. "I am even more worried because Mido doesn't know much about Egyptian football and the Egyptian league in particular, given he was living in England up until his appointment as Zamalek's coach." On a brighter note, Mido is known to be an extremely passionate Zamalek supporter, constantly talking of his unconditional love for the famous white shirt. This might render him as determined as ever to succeed in his new role. Wael Sherif, an Ultras white knights member, is very happy with Mido's appointment, as he thinks ''the club needs fresh blood and someone like Mido who loves the club so much and is ready to give his all to succeed." Sherif said he believes the previous coaches managing the club were not that passionate about the club and that most of them gave up easily and quickly. “Mido will give 500% to succeed in his first managerial position,” he opined. Mido's first words after his appointment were surprising, but emblematic of what Zamalek meant to him. “I had many offers on the table. One of them was to manage Paris Saint German (PSG) youngsters and another was from Masry. I turned them both down for the sake of Zamalek even though both clubs offered much more money for my services than Zamalek has,” Mido said. “Some people have doubts regarding my age and lack of experience, but everyone who knows Mido well will tell you that I've always been a leader inside and outside the pitch ever since I was young and that it is my destiny to be in the place I have loved since being a little kid and that I'm sure to be a success with the club.” "I think age is a problem here in Egypt only, but look around you in the world, there is Spain's Joseph ‘Pep' Guardiola, who became a coach after retiring," he added. At the age of 36, Guardiola was appointed coach of FC Barcelona B on 21 June 2007 and, in mid-2008, he succeeded Frank Rijkaardas the first team manager. In his first seasonas manager, Barça won the trebleof La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. In doing so, Guardiola became the youngest UEFA Champions League-winningmanagerever. The following season, Guardiola and Barcelona won the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cupand the FIFA Club World Cup, bringing the manager's tally to the maximum of six trophies in six competitions in one year, thus completing six trophies sextuplein two seasons. On 8 September 2011, Guardiola was awarded the Catalan parliament's Gold Medal. On 9 January 2012, Guardiola received the 2011 FIFA World Coach of the Yearaward for Men's Football. On 30 June 2012, Guardiola quit as Barcelona manager, after achieving 14 titles in four years in charge of the club. On 16 January 2013, the Bayern Munich management announced that Guardiola would join the club for the 2013-14 season, after Jupp Heynckesleft in July 2013. Mido, who aims at becoming the next Guardiola, said that retiring at a young age and moving to punditry allowed him to gain a lot of experience, enabling him to be in the company of some of the best football analysts in the world. He added that he will be taking managerial courses in the coming years to add to his knowledge and experience. It is anyone's guess whether Mido will take Zamalek to where it belongs or will fail to do so following in the tracks of the club's previous managers.
