Egypt’s national football team could not win the final of the African Cup of Nations (Afcon), having lost it to Senegal.
It could not qualify for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar either, having lost the qualifying match to the Lions of Teranga too.
This encouraged the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to sack head coach Carlos Queiroz who has left a controversial legacy behind.
Queiroz is viewed by most Egyptians as an underachiever, against the background of his failure to qualify for the World Cup 2022.
However, the Portuguese coach led the Pharaohs to the semi-finals of the Arab Cup in Qatar late last year and the Afcon final in Cameroon.
His replacement by a local coach is, meanwhile, bringing in a lot of hope.
The EFA expressed hopes that new head coach, Ehab Galal, would fulfill Egyptians’ aspirations.
It described him as the ‘man of current stage’.
Nonetheless, Galal’s appointment was met with a lot of skepticism.
Some people believe the national team should be headed by an experienced foreigner who can make Egyptians’ football aspirations come true.
Galal, 54, hopes he can follow in the footsteps of great local coaches, such as Mahmoud el-Gohary and Hassan Shehata.
“The successes of these coaches incentivised me to accept the job,” Galal said.
He said the national football team would play two important matches in less than a month from now.
These two matches, he said, are important for accentuating the new identity of the team.
“However, it definitely takes time to bring back the days of glory,” Galal said.
He noted that the national team needs to give priority to Afcon qualifiers.
Galal will be tasked with qualifying for the 2023 African Cup of Nations which should be held in the Ivory Coast between June 23 and July 23 next year.
“The EFA believes that a local coach is an ideal choice now,” federation board member Mohamed Barakat.
Galal had coached Pyramids since September of last year, leading them to the last eight of the CAF Confederation Cup.
He was also the head coach of Zamalek, Ismaily and al-Ahly Tripoli.
Nevertheless, this record creates little unanimity on him among local football experts.
Galal, some of these experts said, had not led any big teams or won a title with any of the teams he headed.
One of his predecessors, namely Hassan Shehata, won the African Cup of Nations three times.
Before leading the national team, Shehata coached the Arab Contractors in the Egyptian Second Division.
He did not have any significant training experience or record.
This fills some people with hope that Galal can copy Shehata’s model.
