CAIRO - Manuel Jose, who hasn't found himself another club, returned Saturday to take charge of Al-Ahly again for one season and half, the club reported. He will be paid 80,000 euros per month. The Portuguese resigned as the manager of Ittihad Jeddah of Saudi Arabia last month, following a draw in the league with Najran, which was Ittihad's eighth stalemate on the trot. Despite renewing their confidence in him this week, the Ittihad board has accepted the resignation of Jose, who is regarded as a living legend in Cairo for his glittering success as Ahly coach, steering the team to three Champions League titles over two spells between 2001 and 2008, in addition to local and regional titles. He is widely tipped to take over from interim boss, ex-Ahly caretaker coach Abdel-Aziz Abdel-Shafei ‘Zizo', who says that his side have finally overcome their poor run of form, in the wake of Thursday's goalless draw with Zamalek in the local league in Cairo. The Red Devils, who have been heavily criticised for a string of lacklustre performances and unsatisfying results, produced a solid display against Zamalek in the league clash. Ahly didn't win, but Zizo believes their performance against their arch-rivals leaves no doubt that they have redeemed themselves. "The tough period is finally over and what's coming should be easier," he said. "What we've achieved in the past few weeks needed months to be done. I'm grateful to the players for this. They lacked harmony and were under immense pressure, but now it's over." Zizo was appointed as Ahly boss on a temporary basis in late November shortly after his predecessor Hossam el-Badri, who was largely blamed for the team's substandard displays, stepped down.
