An open letter to Hossam el-Badry

CAIRO – 2 July 2017: After Al-Ahly’s disappointing 0-0 draw with Zanaco on July 1, 2017, Egypt Today decided to write a letter to Hossam el-Badry in order to raise some questions that all fans are dying to ask the Ahly manager.

Dear Captain Hossam,

We hope you are having a great day after drawing with a team that could have easily been beaten two or three goals to zero. We hope you are having a great day after making poor decisions throughout the past two months during the group stages of the CAF Champions League. How do you feel now about the performance of your so-called protégé Karim Nedved? Is he really worth giving opportunities in critical moments of each decisive match in the group stages? What were you thinking when there was only three minutes left and you wanted to make him play? Didn’t you see Saleh Gomaa’s performance in the last two matches against Al-Masry and ENPPI? Why not give Saleh Gomaa an opportunity to play while he is in form? I know you think that Abdallah El-Said is one of the players that needs to start, but why not give him the last thirty minutes of the game, especially given that his performance in the last couple of matches was not that good?

Your stubbornness caused Al-Ahly to now be in a very sensitive position that could have easily been changed. When people first looked at the CAF group they expected either Zanaco or Wydad to qualify, with Al-Ahly in a safe first place. However, this didn’t turn out to be the case, with Al-Ahly now looking for a victory in the last match in order to qualify. Both Zanaco and Wydad are in better positions. Playing the same 11 players each match is something that cost the team a lot; why not give an opportunity to other players to show their skills? Why not make a subtle change in the formation to suit the quality of players you have? Was Al-Ahly invented to play the 4-2-3-1 formation?

And how is our goal scorer Emad Meteb? You turned him from a goal scorer to a player who sits on the bench each game asking to play in the last 5 minutes. Do you know that Drogba won Chelsea the Champions League when he was 34 years old? Or look how Diego Simeone restored faith back in Torres. Torres was in the lowest performance in his career before joining Atletico Madrid. Simeone understood his potential and abilities and step by step, Torres began to improve until he became part of the starting 11.

I know there is a huge difference between you and Simeone, but why don’t you try and learn from those great coaches? I know that you’ve won a lot of trophies, but I will leave you with the words of Sir Alex Ferguson; “Even though I achieved a lot of things during my career at Manchester United but I always learned something every day while I was on the pitch whether about tactics, my players, or my coaching staff.”
I hope you re-evaluate your decisions towards the team.
Best regards,