Egyptian League 2027: How Hussein Ammouta forged an extraordinary coaching career

Hussein Ammouta’s coaching career began almost by accident after he returned to Morocco hoping to leave football behind and build a life in business.

Ammouta retired as a player with Qatar SC in 2003 and initially wanted to move away from the pressures of professional football. Instead, a call from Mohamed El Kartili, president of Ittihad Khemisset, brought him back to the club in his home city.

He agreed to help because of his loyalty to his first club, without demanding a contract or setting conditions. His intended role was simply to support the coaching and administrative staff.

But after Ittihad Khemisset suffered a poor run of results in their opening six matches, the head coach left. Ammouta was asked to take temporary charge until a replacement could be appointed.

That short-term arrangement became the starting point for an exceptional managerial career.

In some matches, Ammouta combined the roles of player and coach. When results became difficult, he would select himself and step on to the pitch, believing that “Ammouta the player” could help “Ammouta the coach”.

The gamble paid off. He scored important goals and helped improve the team’s results, remaining at Ittihad Khemisset for four years. His biggest achievement came when he guided the club to second place in the Moroccan league, an almost unprecedented accomplishment for a side with limited resources.

The campaign attracted widespread attention in Morocco and encouraged Ammouta to continue developing after retirement. He studied at Morocco’s Centre for the Training of Champions, further preparing for a career on the touchline.

In 2008, he took charge of Fath Union Sport, despite the club having been relegated to the second tier. The appointment raised questions at the time because Ammouta had established a strong reputation with Ittihad Khemisset and had offers from Moroccan top-flight clubs. He nevertheless chose the Fath Union Sport project for a number of reasons.

His first season was immediately successful. He led the team back to the Moroccan top flight at the first attempt and also took them to the final of the Throne Cup, where they lost the trophy on penalties.

The following campaign proved even more significant. Fath Union Sport reached the Throne Cup final for a second successive year and also advanced to the final of the CAF Confederation Cup. Ammouta then guided the club to victory in both competitions.

A move to Qatar followed, where Ammouta assumed full responsibility for Al Sadd. He delivered major domestic success, winning the Qatar Stars League, three cup competitions and the Qatar Super Cup.

He later returned to Morocco with Wydad AC. Although his time there was brief, it was highly successful, with the club winning the Moroccan league and the CAF Champions League. Ammouta described the continental title as the most valuable and important achievement in Africa.

He left Wydad AC in January 2018 and took a period away from coaching before returning in 2021 as head coach of the Morocco national team of local players.

Ammouta managed Morocco in 10 matches and led them to the 2020 African Nations Championship title, beating Senegal 2-0 in the final. He also guided the side to the quarter-finals of the Arab Cup, where they were eliminated by Algeria.

His most prominent international assignment came with Jordan. Ammouta led the national team to the Asian Cup final and oversaw a significant part of their World Cup qualifying campaign before fellow Moroccan Jamal Sellami completed the job successfully.

Before taking charge of Al Ahly, Ammouta had a short spell with Al Jazira in the United Arab Emirates. Mohamed Elneny was playing for the club at that time.