Despite having spelling and grammatical difficulties, Ahli's die hard fan Khaled Al-Essawi managed to make his positive feelings towards Manuel Jose, his side's legendary manager, very clear. "do you know that you are not just a coach of ahli team," Al-Essawi wrote on the blog called 'Manuel Jose, stay with us', created to persuade the 62-year-old Jose to extend his contract. "you com to give us the happeness and remove despair and frustration which caused by the economic status of egypt," he added in poor English. This was not a lone declaration. Hundreds of Ahli supporters voiced their utmost desire to keep Jose in charge of the team, after the Portuguese dropped a bombshell by hinting that he may depart at the end of the season. He later on retracted his stance, to the delight of Ahli fans, who feared Jose might end his honeymoon with the five-time African champions. Another fan, Mohamed El-Jackal, was even more emotional when he urged the former Sporting Lisbon coach 'not to break the hearts of Ahli fans'. "Please think twice, if I were in your place I should stay to make all these people happy again and again," El-Jackal said. Some fans even wrote in Portuguese to ensure Jose would understand their messages. On Thursday, a considerable number of supporters rushed into Marriott hotel, where Jose is staying. They lifted a picture of him and waved the Portuguese flag.
Jose is also popular among his players Deep Affection This was not the first time that Ahli fans had expressed their affection for the fiery-tempered coach. After Ahli's heartbreaking defeat to Etoile Sahel in the Champions League final last year, Jose flew to his homeland for a vacation. Media reports suggested at that time that Jose wouldn't return to Egypt as he seeks a move away from Ahli due to the bad treatment he received from the fans following the Etoile loss. Jose was astonishingly pelted with bottles while on his way to receive the silver medal. But Jose, who led Ahli to a host of trophies in two separate spells with the club, received a historic reception from Ahli supporters at the Cairo airport, as a gesture of apology. "I'm very proud, those fans are very faithful. I will do my best to make sure their expectations are fulfilled," he said at that time. Jose, who guided Ahli to a memorable 6-1 hammering of arch-rivals Zamalek in May 2002, was also greatly welcomed when he was re-appointed as Ahli coach late in 2003. "The person we love returned back, and another 6-1 victory is on track," read a banner carried by Ahli fans following Jose's return.
