CAIRO: Harras Hodoud coach Tarek Al-Ashri revealed that Ahly manager Manuel Jose motivated him ahead of the Egyptian Cup final against ENPPI. The military side won the first trophy in their history after defeating ENPPI 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to claim the cup title on Sunday. Jose called me yesterday and asked me to do him a favor by winning the cup, the ecstatic Al-Ashri told Modern Sport after the game. Portuguese Jose, who is considered the best coach in Ahly s history, does not enjoy the best of relationships with fellow managers due to his fiery temper. But that was not case with Al-Ashri, who made no secret of his admiration for Jose and stated more than once that he wished to learn from the 62-year-old. Hodoud were the ones who eliminated Ahly from the cup, beating them 1-0 in the competition s round of 16. Al-Ashri admitted that Hodoud were not at their best during the cup final at Cairo Stadium. In such tense matches teams become very cautious, that s why the game was not entertaining, he said. My players were nervous because it was the first final in their career. They couldn t sleep yesterday.
