Issue No. 596
Sports
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25 - 31 July 2002 Issue No. 596 Sports |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Zamalek finally settles down
After a long search, Zamalek has finally settled on a new manager for the team. Inas Mazhar reports
It has been a long, arduous task to find a suitable candidate to manage its team, but at long last, Zamalek has come to the task's grand finale, announcing this week the appointment of Carlos Roberto Ferriera Capral.
In a press conference held this week, the Brazilian coach met with Egyptian media and announced with great zeal that he was glad to be working in Egypt with one of the best African clubs. Capral expressed his enthusiasm at the working atmosphere, saying that he was confident it would be clean. He also assured the public that he would take full responsibility for the team's future and results.
Capral's appointment brought peace of mind to Zamalek's management, particularly after financial disputes stalled and stopped the signing-on of Carlos Alberto Torres. Two weeks ago, the former coach of Nigeria and Oman's teams made a sudden retreat from talks, pulling out of a near-final agreement to coach Zamalek. His announcement came in the form of a 'no-show' at a press conference which had been scheduled to formally introduce him to the local press.
Torres, however, informed Zamalek's officials that he had received better offers from clubs in Argentina, Greece and Saudi Arabia and would have to turn Zamalek down unless they increased his monthly salary to US$30,000, compared to the US$10,000 previously agreed on. Zamalek officials responded by saying the figure was beyond the scope of their financial budget.
Fellow countryman Capral, however, was willing to settle for a lot less; he will be managing the team for US$11,000 a month. The 57 year- old -- who once played alongside Pele when a midfielder on the Brazilian national team in 1962 -- started his coaching career in 1979, leading the Brazilian club Santos to the national league in 1995. His experience with African football, he admits, is nil. Recently, however, demand for him has soared.
"I received another offer from a Tunisian club worth $15,000 but I agreed to sign with Zamalek because of its reputation," Capral said. " Money doesn't matter here. I've been a professional coach for more than 20 years now."
Capral's 20-years have taken him to football-worshipping nations such as Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. Egypt, he shares though, holds a special appeal.
"Egyptian football is the oldest, and better than the Gulf football. I used to follow the news of the Egyptian clubs and the national team either from the media or through the Internet in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf," he said.
The move shifts Capral's coaching gears completely -- last season, he was coaching the Brazilian team Santos, helping them clinch eighth place in a national league championship which hosts 28 teams. But while the move was sudden, the transfer must be swift -- Zamalek's opening Champions League match against ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast is just two weeks away, putting Capral under a tremendous amount of pressure. It may just be two weeks, but the club is somehow expecting results.
The task, Capral says, is one he is up to. Some things, he makes sure to emphasise, are already out of his hands.
"Well, I am not responsible for the line-up of the team because when I took over [the team], the African line-up deadline had already passed. What I will be responsible for is the national line-up because I'll make sure to select the best players," he said. Capral added that he has asked the club officials to give him complete data on everyone involved with the team. "If I had arrived a longer time before the African match, I would have had the opportunity to get more acquainted with the players, but I believe that the good manager can still work under any pressure."
The pressure, to him, is actually a thrill.
"Anyway," he says, "I'm a challenger. I enjoy the challenge and I would like to put my prints on the team."
Capral's main challenge, it seems, may be to get acquainted with Zamalek's main arch rivals Ahli -- whose tapes he is collecting for review. Capral said that he is ready for the pressure -- which he knows will be great. He has already been 'warned' that he is expected, by club officials and fans, to lead the team to the league championship title, which they lost last season. A task, he said, which he will accept full responsibility for, as long as he receives no interference.
"I should be the one to select my own assistants and change them if needed," he said. "I'm used to working under pressure and I know how to handle it. When I used to coach Santos, I had Pele's son in my team and Pele himself was the vice-president of the club then and there was a lot of pressure for me to use him because he was the son of the best player of the world," he continues. "But I never used him in the starting line-up."
And he will never, he implies, use the son of any Egyptian authority or dignitary, if it is not in the best interest of the Zamalek team. It is results, he has proven to the world, which have given his name the respect it has.
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