File Photo: Shawky Gharib. Al-Ahram.
This move came swiftly after parting ways with veteran coach Shawky Gharib.
Papavasileiou, a 54-year-old Cypriot tactician, is no stranger to the Egyptian League, having previously coached Wadi Degla, NBE Club and Ittihad of Alexandria.
He returned to Ghazl El-Mahalla, where he previously led the team from September 2022 to January 2023.
This season, Papavasileiou began coaching Ittihad of Alexandria in the Egyptian Premier League but left due to unsatisfactory results.
During his previous stint with Ghazl El-Mahalla, he oversaw 12 games, achieving five wins, three draws, and four losses.
Gharib’s departure
Gharib’s dismissal comes just hours after conceding the team’s fifth successive league loss in the Egyptian Premier League to Pharco FC on Saturday.
“The club board decided to thank the technical staff headed by coach Shawky Gharib for their efforts with the team,” the club said in a statement via its official Facebook page.
“The technical staff did a huge effort with the team in the last period but they weren’t lucky enough. The decision is a trial to find other solutions,” the statement added.
The 65-year-old Gharib has enjoyed a wealth of experience, having managed several clubs in the Egyptian Premier League over his 20-year career, including stints with Arab Contractors, Ghazl El-Mahalla, El-Entag El-Harby, Smouha and Ittihad of Alexandria, in addition to Egypt’s national team.
Gharib, a former Egypt and Mahalla star in the 1980s, took Mahalla charge on 8 December, after the resignation of his successor Ahmed Eid four games into the season following a heavy 4-0 league loss to Zamalek.
He guided the team in eight games in various competitions, winning one, drawing in another and losing the remaining six games.
Ghazl El-Mahalla, dubbed by fans as the Argentines of Egyptian football, face relegation to the second division after just returning to the premier league this season.
The team sit in the 15th place of the Egyptian Premier League table with just eight points from 11 games.
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