Former Zamalek striker Bassem Morsi has criticised head coach Moataz Gamal and the team’s forwards following their 2-0 defeat by Al Ahly in the sixth round of the Egyptian Premier League, claiming he would have scored had he played in the derby.
Al Ahly secured all three points through goals from Mohamed Hany and Monsef, taking their tally to 16 points and moving temporarily to the top of the league standings.
Morsi was particularly critical of Zamalek’s attacking performance, arguing that the team failed to make the most of its opportunities despite what he considered an underwhelming display from Al Ahly’s defence.
Speaking on the ON E television channel, the former Zamalek forward said the encounter fell below expectations in terms of its technical quality, with neither side producing the standard of football anticipated for such a major fixture.
He identified Al Ahly goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir as the best player on the pitch, suggesting that his performance stood out because the other players had failed to reach their expected levels.
Morsi also questioned Gamal’s tactical decisions, expressing surprise at the coach’s decision to introduce several young players as substitutes rather than turn to more experienced options for a match of such importance.
The former striker further criticised the way Chico Banza was used in Zamalek’s formation, arguing that the coach had not taken full advantage of the player’s abilities during the contest.
Despite Zamalek’s defeat, Morsi believes the club has quality players who can compete favourably with their Al Ahly counterparts in several areas of the pitch. However, he singled out the forward line as a department where he considers Al Ahly to have the advantage.
His assessment placed much of the responsibility for the result on Zamalek’s attacking players, whom he accused of failing to convert their chances into goals.
Morsi also expressed dissatisfaction with the forwards’ inability to capitalise on what he regarded as weaknesses in Al Ahly’s central defence. He specifically mentioned defenders Yassin Marei and Ashraf Dari, arguing that their performances should have offered Zamalek’s attackers opportunities to threaten the goal.
The former Zamalek striker used his own hypothetical involvement in the match to underline his frustration with the team’s attacking display.
Bassem Morsi said that if he had participated in the match, he would have carried Al-Ahly’s two central defenders on his shoulders and entered the goal with them to score a goal, noting that the White team’s front line was able to exploit the spaces and defensive errors better.
His comments followed a damaging result for Zamalek, with the former striker directing criticism at both the team’s tactical approach and its failure to take advantage of opportunities in front of goal.
While Morsi questioned Gamal’s decisions from the bench, his remarks also highlighted his belief that Zamalek’s attacking players should have done more against an Al Ahly defence he did not consider particularly impressive.
