Egypt’s Al Ahly appoint former Basel coach Marcel Koller as new manager

Egyptian giants Al Ahly SC have appointed former FC Basel coach Marcel Koller as their new manager.

The Swiss replaces Portuguese, Ricardo Soares, who was in charge for just two months, on a two-year deal.

The record African champions announced the appointment of the 61-year-old on Saturday, September 9 in a statement posted on their social media accounts.

“We are delighted to announce that the Swiss manager Marcel Koller will be our new manager for the next two years,” the statement said.

“The coach will arrive in Cairo on Saturday with his three assistants to start his mission with The Red Eagles.”

He has previously managed Grasshoppers, FC Köln, the Austria national team, and VfL Bochum.

Koller is the third managerial appointment the ten-time African champions have made in 2022.

When South African Pitso Mosimane was fired in June 2022, native Samy Komsan was in charge on a caretaker basis for 16 days before Soares came in.

By merit, Al Ahly should not be participating in the 2022/23 CAF Champions League. They finished third in the 2021/22 Egyptian Premier League; the first time since the 1991/92 season – 30 years.

At the time CAF was calling for participating teams to be confirmed, the Egyptian league was still in session. The Egyptian FA decided to use the results of the first round when Al Ahly were second on the table.