Diyaa El-Sayed, former Egypt national team coach, attacked the management of Zamalek, following the White Knights' draw against Al-Ittihad Alexandria in the first round of the 2026-2027 Egyptian Premier League season.
Zamalek drew 0-0 with Al-Ittihad Alexandria in the match held at the Cairo International Stadium, with each team earning one point to start their new season.
Speaking in an interview with "Al-Nahar" channel, Diyaa El-Sayed said: "One of the mistakes made by all Zamalek officials is defending the delay in preparing the team for the new season and talking about how they won the league last season despite the shortages. However, we must separate what happened last year from the current situation."
Also read | Mido after Zamalek's draw against Al-Ittihad: An expected start... and Maamoun Gamal is not a magician
He continued: "There are fixed rules in coaching that must not be overlooked. Zamalek excelled in the second half of last season after getting into the rhythm, with players running for the full 90 minutes. However, what happened before the start of the current season is completely different in terms of organization and delays."
He added: "The delays, represented by John Edward's departure and Maamoun Gamal taking over, mean the team started its pre-season late and players were absent. The mere 15 days Zamalek had to prepare for the season is enough for players to run for only 40 minutes, if that even happened. I am being generous by saying they ran for 40 minutes."
He concluded: "It is certain that when a player is not physically ready, they are also not mentally ready. These are general rules that Zamalek did not follow at all. No team should start its pre-season late. All these factors resulted in the team playing for only 40 minutes. Head coach Maamoun Gamal would have liked to score a goal in those minutes and then retreat to defense, but that did not happen because Al-Ittihad Alexandria was also poor."
