Zamalek's newly-signed defender Hamada Tolba
Zamalek have signed Maqassa defender Hamada Tolba on a season-long loan for LE1.5 million, the club’s board member Ibrahim Youssef announced on Sunday.
“The player will be registered in the team’s African Champions League squad to be ready for the upcoming game against Ahly,” Youssef, one of Zamalek’s greatest ever defenders, told Ahram Online.
Zamalek’s defence, which has remained shaky since the arrival of coach Hassan Shehata last summer, was highly criticized for the team’s 3-2 loss at Ghana’s Chelsea in their opening Group B game of the Champions League earlier this month.
Central defensive pair Mahmoud Fathallah and Hani Saied were repeatedly exposed as prolific striker Emmanuel Clottey scored a hat-trick to give Chelsea a deserved win.
Saied will miss the anticipated clash against fellow Cairo giants Ahly next Sunday due to automatic suspension, limiting the options of Shehata.
Fathallah sustained a minor knee injury but Zamalek said earlier on Sunday he would be available for the Cairo derby.
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