Ahli will return to their traditional 3-5-2 formation in their upcoming Egyptian Premier League games, new coach Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Shafi 'Zizo' said on Friday. Zizo took over at the Red Devils on a temporary basis after Hossam Al-Badri handed in his resignation earlier this week. He is burdened with the task of ending a poor Ahli run that saw them exit the African Champions League at the hands of Tunisia's Esperance before dropping points against lowly Gouna and bitter rivals Ismaili in the domestic league. One of Zizo's methods of fulfilling that target will be re-applying a formation that many Egyptian teams escaped from during the past two years. "We will return to the 3-5-2 formation," Ahli great Zizo, who was forced to prematurely end his playing career due to niggling injury problems in the 1970s, told FilGoal.com. "We aim to switch the roles and positions of some players." Portuguese boss Manuel Jose, a cult figure among Ahli's faithful, led the team to a host of local and continental titles while deploying the 3-5-2 strategy that features an old-fashioned sweeper behind two central defenders. Al-Badri, however, opted to shift to 4-4-2 after succeeding Jose in the summer of 2009 and the majority of Premier League managers followed suit.
Ghaly is one of the candidates to become the new sweeper Who is the sweeper? Jose used to rely on Emad Al-Nahhas, now retired, as his sweeper but Zizo will face a dilemma over who can fill that role at a time where natural liberos are scarce. Under Al-Badri, evergreen defender Wael Gomaa used to partner Sherif Abdul-Fadil in the heart of Ahli's backline. Mohamed Samir was their understudy but was often criticized for his recurring lapse of concentration. Abdul-Fadil, who also operates as right and left back, and central midfielder Hossam Ghaly are also in contention to occupy the critical position where any blunder can be costly, according to Zizo. "Samir, Abdul-Fadil and Ghaly vie for the sweeper position. They are being tested," he added. Ahli next face promoted Smouha, who registered their maiden league victory after stunning Masri with a 3-1 win on Thursday, next week. The defending champions, who eye a seventh consecutive league title, lie fifth in the table with 18 points from nine games, six behind leaders and arch rivals Zamalek who played two matches more.
