Within 24 hours, football powerhouse clubs Ahli and Zamalek lost their superstar coaches. Ahmed Morsy finds out why they left and who replaces them Six-time African champions Ahli were rocked on Friday with the news of the resignation of Portuguese manager Manuel Jose after an 18-month spell. Jose, who led Ahli to 20 titles in three separate stints, including four CAF Champions League trophies, announced this weekend that he will not extend his contract which ends in June. Hossam El-Badri, a former Ahli coach, was quickly hired to replace Jose. On the other side of Cairo, Zamalek's first-year coach Hassan Shehata, the former Egyptian national team manager, resigned from his post as well after a meeting with the club's board on Saturday allegedly due to "management negligence". Shehata's decision came six days following the stunning altercation with forward Mahmoud Abdel-Razek 'Shikabala' during an African Champions League game after Shikabala was substituted. Shikabala was reportedly not punished for his outburst, leaving Shehata with no choice but to quit. However, in the meantime the Zamalek board, headed by chairman Mamdouh Abbas, decided not to discuss Shehata's resignation until Abbas returns from a business trip abroad. Coincidentally, Shehata and Jose decided to depart after their teams not only made it to the group stage of the Champions League but after the two Cairo rivals were paired in the same group. Jose insisted his decision to end his third spell with Ahli was for the sake of the team. "I hoped to end my career with Ahli but recent circumstances were very difficult," Jose said in a press conference following his side's 2-0 defeat in Friday's friendly against La Liga side Espanyol. "The situation in Egypt is very difficult. People are only interested in politics, neglecting football and its requirements. Ahli and Zamalek are playing in the Champions League without fans which is not acceptable. I am very sad to leave that club that I love very much and owe a lot. "Our daily work has become very difficult. The players lost their concentration due to the country's instability and that prevented me from working as I used to before. I feared that I could not realise the fans' hopes so I decided to leave," added the 66-year-old veteran. Jose was referring to the uncertain future of Egyptian football following February's Port Said stadium disaster in which 74 mainly Ahli fans were killed. The tragedy led to the indefinite suspension of all domestic football activity. African games being played in Egypt since have been held in empty stadiums for security reasons. Last year, Jose was rehired in January for a third spell at Ahli's helm, effectively overturning a six-point deficit to beat rivals Zamalek to claim the league title. "I want to thank Ahli fans and the management for supporting me and I repeat that I am very sad to leave. I did not receive any new offers yet. My wife is very sick and will undergo two surgeries this month and I need to be with her," Jose said. For the second time, Enppi coach El-Badri agreed to begin his second spell as Ahli manager for a two-season period, replacing Jose. The same situation occurred in 2009 when El-Badri was serving as Jose's assistant at Ahli for several years before taking over after Jose's departure. That year, El-Badri led the club to its 35th Egyptian domestic league title. In addition, the Cairo giants made it to the Egypt Cup final and the African Champions League semi-final. When Ahli began the following season shakily, El-Badri was sacked. He went on to coach Sudanese club Merreikh and clinched the domestic title last season to end the team's three-year trophy drought. Last December, the 52-year-old coach signed a two-year contract with petroleum club Enppi, succeeding Mokhtar Mokhtar. Shehata is the country's most successful coach after leading the national team to three successive Africa Cup of Nations trophies 2006, 2008 and 2010. The Shikabala incident was the icing on the cake. Shehata had apparently made up his mind when management refused to release certain players or sign new players. Shehata, the longest serving coach in Egyptian national team history -- over seven years -- revealed that he took the decision because management had not met his demands. It was also reported that the 62-year-old coach was upset how management was delaying players' salaries. Observers and critics believe Shikabala's outburst at Shehata was the last straw, given that Zamalek enforced only a temporary ban on the talented forward. It was reported that Shehata asked the Zamalek board to offload Shikabala, but the Cairo giants refused. "Shehata recorded all the details of the conflict in the match report... the coach didn't ask for any specific punishment. The entire matter is up to management now," the club explained on its official website. Though an official statement has yet to be released, the board is expected to try to persuade Shehata to stay with Zamalek and win the CAF Champions League title which has eluded them since 2004. In addition to their similar date of departures, both Shehata and Jose also made comparable comments praising each other in their last days. During an interview with Jose on the Ahli TV channel on Monday, Shehata hailed the Portuguese in a phone-in. "Jose is a great manager and he made a great impact not only on Ahli but on Egyptian football as a whole," Shehata said. "Jose prepared a generation of great footballers that helped Egypt to win a series of trophies," he added. Replied Jose in kind: "Shehata presented football never played before in Africa. He is great in dealing with the players, making them enthusiastic and thirsty for championships." Because of the league's cancellation, Shehata never did meet Jose this season in the Ahli-Zamalek derby clash.
