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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Books Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons The axe falls
The slaughter of Egypt's national soccer team coaches continues. Last week, Frenchman Gerard Gili became the latest lamb -- perhaps the scapegoat -- to get the axe, this after less than four months on the job.
"Gerard Gili was in violation of his contract when he took a 20-day leave in France instead of the 10 days he was granted." With that, El-Dahshouri Harb, head of the Egyptian Football Federation (EFF), effectively booted Gili out. At a press conference, Harb said the coach's prolonged stay in France kept him from monitoring preparations for Olympic qualifiers -- which was part of his job -- and submitting a report on Egypt's quarter-final exit from the African Cup of Nations (ACN). "The tardiness of the report," Harb said, "prevented the EFF from taking appropriate measures to remedy any shortcomings."
The decision to fire Gili was announced after a five-hour meeting of the federation's board of directors which ended in the early hours of Sunday. Gili, who returned from his holiday last week accompanied by his lawyer, Catherine Loiseau, attended the first two hours of the meeting.
The EFF did not notify Gili about his firing. Instead, he was told about it the next morning by Room Service at the Cairo Meridien Hotel, where he was staying until Monday, the day he flew back home.
Although Gili is gone, his contractual dispute remains. Gili was on a six-month contract ending 10 May and had been paid a six months' salary worth $210,000 in advance. Harb said the EFF had formed a four-man team to negotiate an "amicable" termination of the contract, a reference to the federation's desire to see Gili hand back a two-month salary, or $70,000. Failing that, Harb said he will seek FIFA arbitration.
"I don't mind paying back the two months' salary but only on one condition, and that is to prove I did not violate the terms of the contract," Gili said before he left. Speaking through Amr Moheb, his interpreter and a fellow journalist in Al-Ahram Hebdo, Gili said he had taken permission from Harb, through his assistant Hani Mustafa, to go to France for 20 days. "When we were in Nigeria he gave me Harb's agreement. I told them that I will watch the Olympic qualifiers on videotape. Anyway, I know most of the Olympic team -- I have eight of them on my team," Gili said.
Speaking to reporters before leaving the federation premises, Gili defended his record in Egypt, saying he had little time to prepare the Pharaohs for the defence of their title in the ACN which was held in Nigeria and Ghana in January and February. "Any coach must train a team for two years before he can get results," said Gili, who was hired last November.
In an interview with Gili before taking over the team, he told The Weekly, "My main target is qualifying for the World Cup and not defending the African Cup crown. There is no time to prepare the team for Africa. We will do our best, but I can't promise to return with the cup. The officials know that and the fans should understand this very well."
Gili also said he was all too aware of Egyptian ambitions to win the African championship for a second time running but seemed hesitant to make predictions and considered the African tournament as only a springboard to the World Cup, which he insisted was a far better goal. "I think the Egyptians will be much happier when the team reaches the World Cup after all these years."
Gili, the first Frenchman to lead Egypt, is a former goalkeeper who guided Marseilles to the French league championship in 1988 and both the league and cup titles a year later. In 1993, he took over Montpellier, which ranked seventh that season, leading it to the cup final. In 1997, he was selected one of three assistants to head coach Aime Jacquet, whose squad won the 1998 World Cup.
Gili after the curtain fell
photo: Osama Abdel -Nabi
Out of 75 days in Egypt, Gili worked 60, and his assessment of footballers was not so rosy. "From what I've seen I can say that there is definitely talent in these players, but there is a lot of work to do. The league in Egypt is weak and cannot give birth to international players. Egyptian players have to work hard, especially on team play, techniques, tactics and physical fitness. They need to be trained in technical aspects in order to play as a team more than as individuals."
Following Egypt's 1-0 loss to Tunisia in the ACN quarter-finals, Gili took some of the blame. "I made some mistakes, that is not a secret, but what is not known is that the team lost the match four days before it was played. When they knew they would meet Tunisia their morale dropped." The explanation: Tunisia qualified for the 1978 World Cup finals at Egypt's expense and repeated the scenario 20 years later to go on to the 1998 World Cup, giving rise to what is known in Egypt as the "Tunisia phobia."
"Instead of great enthusiasm, there was great depression and disappointment that we were about to play them," said Gili.
The loss to Tunisia sparked a furious debate in the press. The media agreed as one that Gili was totally responsible but was split on whether he should stay or go. The French Embassy translated the articles, the pros and cons, for Gili.
The Pharaohs' quarter-final exit at the hands of a modest Tunisian squad unleashed all-encompassing media attacks on Gili, his $35,000 a month salary, his cellular phone bill and his residence at the Cairo Meridien Hotel and not least his competence as a coach. "I understand the frustration of the Egyptians and the journalists who attacked me because I myself was disappointed after the loss," he said. "But what I don't understand is why they fired me, claiming it's the nation's request. When I go anywhere in Egypt, people praise me, not attack me, and ask me to continue."
At the press conference, Harb announced that the next coach would be an Egyptian, to be named in the next few days. He declined to name names, but Gili's predecessor, Mahmoud El-Gohari, could be in the running. El-Gohari resigned along with the entire football federation last year after Egypt's 5-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the Intercontinental Cup in Mexico. Still, El-Gohari is considered one of the favourites, as is Mohsen Saleh, who coached Egypt in the early 1990s and now manages first division team Ismaili. A third possibility is Anwar Salama, who was Gili's top assistant before quitting in January, saying that the Frenchman was marginalising his role.
Whether the nod goes to El-Gohari, Saleh, Salama or any other replacement, soccer-crazy Egyptian fans will be looking for nothing short of an appearance in the 2002 World Cup finals. The Pharaohs, who last appeared in the World Cup in 1990, take on Mauritius next month in the away leg of a two-match World Cup qualifying tie.
Meanwhile, Gili has received several coaching offers from African countries and says he will think about them seriously. "I didn't want to leave but it was their decision," he said.
