A former Zamalek coach is coming to the rescue. But will it work? Mohamed El-Sayed can still see problems Happy days have practically come to an end in Zamalek, aka the White House. One of Egypt's most popular football clubs is sinking fast following another defeat that quickly came on the heels of the 4-2 drubbing by arch rivals Ahli two weeks ago. The most recent embarrassment came when the team lost to newcomers Cement Suez 2-1. The two defeats came after a record 52- match unbeaten streak in the national league. The board unanimously agreed on Saturday to recall former Brazilian coach Carlos Cabral who coached the team in the 2002-2003 season, guiding them to the national league title and the African Champions League. Cabral was offered $16,000 in addition to $50,000 in advance. However, there is still Draguslav, the current German coach, to contend with. Draguslav's contract stipulates that he be paid $120,000 in case he is fired. The administration, headed by Kamal Darwish, has thus been trying to either persuade Draguslav to pass up the $120,000 or more likely, accept the post of a consultant on the club's board -- a novel post in Egyptian clubs. Ironically, those calling for Cabral's comeback are the ones who sacked him 18 months ago when the team was eliminated from the last-16 stage of the African Champions League in 2003. Meanwhile, Ahmed Ramzi, Zamalek's star in the nineties and a former coach, was appointed to coach the team until Cabral arrives. Despite the team's shaky performance during much of the first six weeks of the season, Darwish stressed that the club would not sack Draguslav but the loss against newly promoted Cement Suez on Friday broke the camel's back. The defeat sent Zamalek to third place in the league table with only 14 points, 10 behind top- of-the-table Ahli. Since then, disputes between Darwish, vice-president Murtada Mansour and board members have been non-stop. On Wednesday last week, Mansour and Darwish exchanged verbal insults at the Helmi Zamoura Stadium, where the team was in a training session, in front of the players and coaching staff. "If this is the relationship between the president and his deputy, how can they ask us to concentrate to achieve victories?" said one eyewitness later. The frayed nerves could also be the result of board elections in March. Board members are trying their mightiest to be re-elected and one of the tried and trusted ways is through the football team. A case in point: several announcements have been made claiming that there are efforts underway to bring back the team's defender Beshir El-Tabei from his Turkish team to which he signed few months ago. Other candidates claim they are on the verge of signing promising players from the coastal club Ismaili like Hosni Abd- Rabbou, Mohamed Abdallah and Ahmed Fathi. Farouk Gaafar, Zamalek's star in the seventies and who is currently coaching Misri of Port Said, announced earlier this week that he will be running for the presidency of Zamalek in the elections. "I decided to run to help boost the football team's level," Gaafar, who is nicknamed "the flying coach" by critics for the many sides he has trained, added: "I want to put an end to the disputes currently affecting the club. No doubt the presence of a former footballer and coach at the head of the club's board will greatly benefit the team." Given that Gaafar took the decision to run just 24 hours following the selection of Cabral, some observers argue that this is Gaafar's way of getting back at the club's board for not selecting him as coach. The last three years have been the most successful Zamalek has ever had, the club during this period collecting one-third of all the crowns they won in their history. They will need a strong rebound from the current crisis if they are to see sweeter times again.
