Momen Soliman vows to resign if Zamalek lose Champions League final

Zamalek manager Momen Soliman said on Monday he would resign in case his side failed to clinch the 2016 CAF Champions League title against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Zamalek, who are seeking their first Champions League title since 2002, will face the South African side in the tournament’s final on October 15 and 23. The first leg will take place in South Africa, while Zamalek will host Sundowns at Borg El-Arab Stadium in the second leg.

“If we lose, I’ll resign by a phone call and I will not go to the club for the training sessions so that I don’t embarrass anyone if this happens,” Soliman said in a televised interview.

Soliman was appointed as interim coach in July following the sacking of Mohamed Helmy. He led the White Castle to winning the Egypt Cup title against Al Ahly before he was named as the club’s permanent coach.

Photo: Zamalek SC

“We can’t get anything wrong in the coming period; in training, sleeping, or nutrition. Everything should be done at a high level even though there have only been eight players in training sessions during the past period,” Soliman added.

Eight Zamalek players were included in the national team’s squad in the 2018 World Cup qualifications against Congo, which ended in a 2-1 victory for the Pharaoh’s, while five others were atthe military team’s training camp over the past few days.

“Sundowns is a big, strong team just like Zamalek, and winning the title is possible for either team. I hope that Zamalek fans will tolerate me if we don’t succeed in winning the title as I would have done everything I could,” Soliman concluded.

Zamalek reached the African tournament’s final after beating Wydad Casablanca in the semi-final. The White Castle defeated the Moroccan side 4-0 in Cairo before losing 5-2 away to qualify to the final game with an aggregate score of 6-5.