THE 49TH Egyptian Premiership began in upheaval, at least in Zamalek. In the wake of Zamalek's 1-1 draw with Alexandria's Ittihad in Cairo, Theo Bucker, Zamalek's German coach, was fired. "Bucker's changes in the previous matches were very poor and the way he treats the players is awful," Mortada Mansour, Zamalek's president, was quoted saying by way of explanation. Bucker, who joined Zamalek just this summer, was stunned by the decision. "I do not know how a decision can be made based on one match. Our match with Esperance [of Tunisia] in the African Champions League was wonderful. We were able to beat one of the strongest African teams [2-1] away. After the victory, the players felt very confident and believed Ittihad easy prey. On the contrary, Ittihad had a strong fighting spirit and kept fighting until the last minute." In other matches, Reda Metwalli of Ghazl Al-Mehalla scored the first goal of the 2005 championship, against Aluminum. Harbi Tawfik scored the equaliser from a penalty kick. Ismaili beat the Army 2-0 for the first win of the season. Suez Cement beat the Arab Contractors following Mohamed Adel's sole goal on the 21st minute while Enppi and Assiout Cement drew 1-1. Defending champions Ahli had little trouble with newly promoted Koroum, beating the Alexandrians 2-0 thanks to Gilberto and Emad Metaab. Manuel Jose, Ahli manager, was upset with the overall play and blamed the players for the mediocre performance. The Border Guards drew goalless with Misri.