The Egyptian Al Ahly football team has entered a dark phase, contrary to the expectations that accompanied the start of the current season, which had suggested the team's dominance in all competitions after securing several strong deals in the transfer market. However, the red team is currently experiencing a slump, leading to public anger and internal sanctions amidst expectations of imminent technical and administrative changes. "Al Ahly has signed stars from the top tier, but the most important thing is how to benefit from them on the field," the former Al Ahly goalkeeper continued. "I hope the board's decisions are aimed at actual reform, not just a reaction to negative results. Personally, I see him as a good coach, but there are questions about his technical choices, especially regarding Portuguese player Ilsinho Camacho or his initial lack of conviction in Moroccan Youssef Elalamari." Camacho joined Al Ahly in the last winter transfer window but failed to prove himself, failing to score or assist in any goal before being excluded by Torop from the team's last three league matches. Shubir concluded his remarks by saying, "I believe that winning the league or the Champions League title alone is enough to calm the fans' anger, but the current situation is not encouraging, and I hope it changes soon." The team's former captain, Ahmed Shubir, believes the only way out of this crisis is to win a title at the end of the season to calm the club's fans. Al Ahly finished the first half of the Egyptian league in third place, behind their traditional rivals Zamalek and Pyramids, trailing both by three points. The team was also eliminated from the Egyptian Cup in the first round. In the African Champions League, the team is tied in a tough confrontation with Tunisian Esperance in the quarter-finals, where they will have to play the second leg at their Cairo stadium without fans due to a punishment issued after riots following their match with Moroccan Royal Army at the end of the group stage. These crises come despite the great optimism that accompanied the start of the season, which saw Al Ahli sign Zamalek star Ahmed Sayed 'Zizo', Tunisian Mohamed Ali Ben Ramadan, as well as the return of Malian Aliou Dianghe and winger Mahmoud Hassan 'Trezeguet'. The slump in the league, during which Al Ahly wasted a full 20 points in the first half, concluding with a loss against Talaa El Jaish, led the club's board to decide to deduct 30% of the players' salaries, in addition to suspending 25% of their contract values, until the team's status in the competition for the league and Champions League titles is decided. Al Ahly's president, Mahmoud El Khatib, tasked his deputy, Yassin Mansour, and council member Sayed Abdel Hafeez with conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the club's football sector, including the technical and administrative staff, with a study of the possibility of a complete restructuring of the sector. A source in Al Ahly's administration revealed that Mansour and Abdel Hafeez have already started holding continuous meetings, some of which were only interrupted by Abdel Hafeez's travel with the Al Ahly delegation to Tunisia for the first leg against Esperance in the Champions League semi-finals. The source added: "After the two matches with Esperance, the steps that Mansour and Abdel Hafeez wish to implement will become clear." The source indicated that El Khatib granted Mansour full authority to make appropriate decisions in this file, pointing to the possibility of canceling the football planning committee headed by Mokhtar Mokhtar, changing the sporting director Mohamed Youssef and the contracting director Osama Helal, and bringing in new names for these positions, in addition to expectations of changes in the club's youth sector. As for the technical staff of the first team under Danish coach Jesper Torop, who is facing significant technical criticism, the source explained: "The discussion about Torop's fate is postponed until the end of the confrontation with Esperance in the Champions League, and all options remain open, despite the financial difficulties associated with this file." Al Ahly signed Torop in October of last year for a two-season contract, and his contract stipulates that he receives his full contract value if he is dismissed before the end of the first season, which creates financial pressure on the club's administration, which has faced similar crises with previous coaches, Swiss Marcel Koller and Spanish Jose Ribeiro. The fans' anger is justified. In this context, Al Ahly's former captain and commentator Ahmed Shubir said: "The anger shown by Al Ahly's fans in the current period is fully justified due to the poor results and the team's modest performance in local and continental competitions." Shubir added: "Signing big names does not necessarily guarantee success unless there is a clear plan to employ these elements within the team. Unfortunately, I have not seen a real role for the planning committee or the officials of the football sector in the recent period." Regarding the technical staff, Shubir said: "I believe that Torop will stay until at least the end of the season, and perhaps longer if the team wins the league or the Champions League."
