Al Ahly coach Marcel Koller bolsters youth team with five first team players for Capital Cup clash against Tala’ea El Gaish

Swiss coach Marcel Koller, the mastermind behind Al Ahly’s tactics, has opted to inject fresh energy into the squad by drafting five first-team players into the youth team for tonight’s Egyptian Capital Cup showdown against Tala’ea El Gaish.

This second-round group stage match sees Koller blending experience with youthful vigor as Al Ahly looks to bounce back from an early tournament setback.

Koller fired off a message to the quintet via WhatsApp, directing them to Nasr City headquarters to link up with the squad ahead of the game.

The chosen players are Ali Maaloul, Yasser Ibrahim, Khaled Abdel Fattah, Omar El Saai, and Samir Mohamed. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Mostafa Makhlouf got a head start, training with the youth side yesterday to gear up for the clash.

Sami Qamssan, first-team general coach, hashed out details with youth technical director Samer Abdel Rahman over the phone, settling on how long Ali Maaloul returning from a lengthy injury will feature.

The youth coaching trio of Samer Abdel Rahman, Mohamed Naguib, and Essam El-Ghandour will steer the side after Al Ahly’s 1-0 loss to Enppi in their group opener.