Zamalek recently departed defender Wael Al-Qabani said on Saturday the club's board released him without the approval of French coach Henri Michel. "I believe that the board is responsible for my departure, not Michel," Al-Qabani told FilGoal.com. "I'm not convinced that Michel was the one who took the decision because I played under him very well, so there is no reason for showing me the door." Al-Qabani and defender Mahmoud Mahmoud were surprisingly left out of the team's squad for the next season, despite traveling to France with their teammates for the pre-season training camp. Zamalek have taken the decision after signing three natural centre backs in Beshir Al-Tabie, Karim Zekri and Khaled Saad to reshuffle the shaky backline which disturbed the Cairo giants' displays in the past three seasons. Reports said Michel has opted to release Al-Qabani because he will employ the 4-4-2 formation next season as the sweeper does not excel in the centre back position. "These reports are not true because I took part in several matches in which Michel used the 4-4-2 formation, I played as a central midfielder," the 30-year-old said. Al-Qabani, who joined Zamalek from Aswan in 1999, stated he is surprised to be axed while there are several players who were below-par last season but were not released. He revealed that he received offers from Egyptian League teams Ismaili, Petrojet, Ittihad, Tersana and Harras Al-Hodoud. "I will carefully study the offers before determining my next destination," he concluded.
