Al Masry appoint Ahmed Samy as new head coach after Emad El Nahhas departure

Al Masry have appointed Ahmed Samy as their new head coach, replacing Emad El Nahhas, who has officially left the Egyptian club and become the first manager to depart a team this season.

The club confirmed the appointment on its official social media accounts, welcoming Samy in a message that said: “We are delighted to welcome coach Ahmed Samy as the new manager of our team. Welcome to the City of Eagles.”

FilGoal.com had previously reported that Al Masry had decided to part company with El Nahhas and appoint Samy as his successor.

An Al Masry source told FilGoal.com that German coach Josef Zinnbauer had been close to taking charge of the team, but instead agreed a contract with Sudanese club Al Hilal.

“We then decided to abandon the idea of appointing a foreign coach, for fear of losing points during the period he would need to adapt to the team, and turned towards a national coach,” the source said.

The source added: “We completed the agreement with Ahmed Samy after considering him alongside Alaa Abdel Aal and Tamer Mostafa. Samy has a strong personality and is capable of controlling the team’s star players.”

Samy is due to lead his first training session with Al Masry on Wednesday, with the session scheduled to begin at 20:00.

His coaching staff will include Hossam Abdel Aal as general coach, Ahmed Fathi as assistant coach, Salah Amin as coach and Osama Abdel Karim as goalkeeping coach.

The appointment gives Samy another opportunity to establish himself at one of Egypt’s prominent clubs. He has previously managed Tala’ea El Gaish, Ceramica Cleopatra, Smouha and Al Ittihad, while his most recent coaching position was with Modern Sport.

Al Masry are preparing for their next fixture on 7 September, when they are scheduled to face Montakhab El-Suez and Petrojet in the Egyptian Premier League’s fourth round.

The club will also compete in the Egyptian Super Cup for only the second time in its history. This season’s tournament is due to take place in December.

El Nahhas’ departure marks the first managerial change of the campaign. Al Masry moved quickly to appoint a replacement, opting for an Egyptian coach after the proposed move for Zinnbauer failed to materialise when the German joined Al Hilal.

Samy’s immediate task will be to settle into the role before the club’s upcoming league commitments and its appearance in the Egyptian Super Cup. His first training session will provide the initial opportunity to begin working with the squad and coaching team assembled for the new campaign.