Lead:
Medhat Shalaby, Mustafa Younes, and other former players have launched sustained criticism of Al-Ahly's football management, questioning both financial strategy and tactical direction. Younes told Sada al-Balad that the club has wasted millions without corresponding improvement, while Shalaby told El-Balad that coach Hossam Hassan's decision-making undermines team discipline. The controversy extends to Egypt's national team, where Hassan faces calls for resignation.
Voices & Positions:
In Sada al-Balad, Mustafa Younes argues that Al-Ahly must abandon its reliance on costly transfers and instead promote academy graduates who demonstrate loyalty to the club. He specifically criticizes unnamed players "earning millions with no performance," compares Al-Ahly unfavorably to Zamalek's youth development model, and names Pyramids as the best-performing team in the current league—a rare endorsement of a competitor. Younes states the club's identity cannot be restored through expensive signings alone.
In El-Balad, Medhat Shalaby contends that national team coach Hossam Hassan's travel to Turkey to meet Mohamed Salah and manage tensions is a strategic error that sets a dangerous precedent: every player who disputes his selection will now demand personal negotiation. Shalaby adds that Mustafa Mohamed's return to the national squad is "difficult" under current circumstances.
In Sada al-Balad, former Zamalek star Mahmoud Abdel-Razek Shikabala calls for Hassan's resignation, arguing that a national team coach must command respect and avoid surrounding controversy—a frame that avoids discussing Hassan's tactical record directly.
In El-Balad, Rabee Yaseen observes that Al-Ahly's coach Al-Husein Amouta appears visibly frightened during matches due to crowd hostility, and suggests this pressure may distort his tactical judgment.
Tension & Convergence:
All critics converge on the claim that Al-Ahly's financial outlay has not yielded sporting results and that internal instability—whether player disputes or crowd pressure—compromises coaching authority. However, they diverge on remedy: Younes emphasizes academy promotion as cure; Shalaby and Shikabala focus on restoring hierarchical discipline within coaching structures; Yaseen highlights the erosion of coach credibility through public abuse. None address whether tactics themselves are flawed, only spending and authority.
Editorial Takeaway:
The dominant voice today is that Al-Ahly's problems are structural and financial, not tactical—and that player individualism and crowd politics have corroded the institution's chain of command.