Jose Peseiro (Photo: Ahly's official website)
Cairo giants Ahly have parted ways with Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro upon his request, the club announced late on Monday.
Peseiro’s sudden departure comes just 48 hours ahead of the anticipated league match against bitter rivals Ismaily on Wednesday.
Club icon Abdel-Aziz Abdel-Shafi "Zizo", head of the football sector, becomes a caretaker boss for the second time in a few months.
In his previous stint, which came following the sacking of Fathi Mabrouk following the end of last season, Zizo helped Ahly pull off a thrilling 3-2 victory over Cairo rivals Zamalek in the Egyptian Super Cup in October.
“The board has decided to terminate Peseiro’s contract after he asked not to continue his mission,” Ahly said in a statement via their official website.
“Peseiro said he can’t bear the recent criticism and pressure anymore, plus that he already endures bad luck.
“Club president Mahmoud Taher tried to persuade the coach to stay put, promising him full backing. But he acknowledged that Ahly fans no longer accept his presence after the recent poor results,’ the statement added.
Under the guidance of the 55-year old tactician, Ahly lie third in the league table with 26 points, one behind leaders and rivals Zamalek with both team still have three matches in hand.
The Red Devils won eight matches, drew twice and lost twice under Peseiro.
He was heavily criticised for his tactics as well as his insistence not to rely on several summer signings, including Ghanaian striker John Antwi, who was named as the Egyptian league top scorer in 2014 while at Ismaily.
“The coach said that he was heavily attacked even before starting his mission while any rebuilding process takes a long time and that negatively affected him,” Ahly explained in the statement.
“Upon the coach’s determination to leave, the board decided to terminate the contract. He will pay the release clause.
"Zizo will be in charge of the team in both Ismaily and Ittihad matches,” the statement concluded.
Peseiro’s appointment
In October last year, Ahly appointed the former Real Madrid assistant manager, Peseiro, as the club's new coach for one season.
They were hoping he would turn around their fortunes after failing to win a major trophy last season for the first time since 2004.
Peseiro’s appointment was met by heavy criticism from the team's fans, who argued that his resume was not up to the standards of Egypt and Africa's most successful outfit.
Apart from spells at Real Madrid and Saudi Arabia, where he was sacked following a loss to Syria in the Asia Cup in 2011, Peseiro also took charge of Saudi's Hilal, Panathinaikos, Sporting Braga and UAE's Al-Wehda.
Peseiro, who failed to take Saudi Arabia to the 2010 World Cup finals, saw his most notable achievement in 2005 when he led Portuguese giants Sporting to the Europa League final before losing the title to CSKA Moscow.
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