Al Ahly head coach Marcel Koller has now been criticised for starting Bafana Bafana talisman Percy Tau in the second leg of their African Football League semi-final defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns.
Masandawana took their unbeaten streak against the Red Devils to seven games after the second leg of their AFL semi-final at the Cairo International Stadium ended 0-0 on Wednesday night.
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With the record Egyptian Premier League champions failing to win a single game in the competition, it appears Koller is bearing the brunt of the team's tournament exit, with former Ajax Amsterdam and Tottenham Hotspur striker Mido lambasting a number of his coaching decisions since.
One of those was the call to start winger Tau in the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday. The 2023 CAF Men's Player of the Year nominee struggled to make an impact for Ahly throughout the showpiece, failing to register a goal or an assist, and Mido believes their new acquisition Reda Slim should have started ahead of the ex-Brighton Hove Albion forward.
"Ali Maaloul cannot be a scapegoat," the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations winner told Al-Mehwar after Ahly's AFL exit was confirmed.
"The one who bears the result in the end is Marcel Koller, the team's coach, because of his changes today in the match.
"Koller made a mistake in today's match by starting with Percy Tau at the expense of Reda Slim, and left Aliou Dieng in [until] the 70th minute."
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