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'The Tunisia Complex' Gili's tenure uncertain after Egypt's African Cup exit
Posted: Thursday February 10, 2000 05:38 PM
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Vanquished and demoralized, the Pharaohs returned home Thursday after their quarterfinal exit at the African Cup of Nations - without their manager. And many are wondering aloud if Frenchman Gerard Gili should come back at all. The Egyptian Football Federation is scheduled to meet on Monday to review the team's performance, but Gili's future will not be decided until his return from a 10-day holiday in France. "The federation may have to let him carry on as it does not seem to have any alternatives at the moment," said Hassan al-Mistikawi, a prominent sports writer from Egypt's prestigious Al-Ahram daily. "But a great deal will depend on what Hani Mustafa has to say about Gili in his report." Mustafa, a former international and a member of the federation's board of directors, led the Egyptian delegation to the African Cup, which entered the semifinal phase Thursday in Nigeria and Ghana. Whether he stays or goes, the Frenchman who led Marseille to three consecutive league titles between 1989-1991 may have lost the goodwill of the Egyptian fans and the media forever. The face that Egypt was eliminated by Tunisia, something of a soccer nemesis for the Pharaohs, only added insult to the injury. Media reports say that most of the Egyptian squad were so demoralized by Monday's 1-0 defeat that they did not leave their rooms except for meals. Monday's defeat was made more difficult to accept after the Pharaohs finished atop of their first-round group with three victories and seven goals, the best of the 16 sides which started the tournament. The Egyptians, who have won the African Cup a record four times, have not beaten Tunisia in 11 years, a record that led fans and sports writers to coin the enduring phrase "The Tunisia Complex." Tunisia qualified for the World Cup finals in 1978 at the expense of the Egyptians and repeated that feat to go to France 98. Egypt 3-0 record in the first round earned him a reprieve from a media assualt, which besides criticizing his tactics, focused on his monthly salary of US$35,000 -- the highest ever paid to an Egyptian national team manager and five times higher than his predecessor Egyptian Mahmoud al-Gawhari earned. Gili, who took over the team in November, had been paid six months' salary in advance. But following Monday's loss, the media resumed its criticism, reflecting the mood of a football-serious nation. "May God never forgive you, Gili," screamed a headline in the daily Al-Jomhuria on Thursday. "Those who hired you must be put on trial," wrote veteran sports writer Nassef Silim. "Monsieur Gili never helped our players. On the contrary, he was against them with his poor selection and his total absence from what was going on the pitch," Silim added. Another sports writer, Al-hram's Osama Ismail, called Gili a charlatan and a con artist. "Gili found his target in our midst and inside our cash safe box when he had the nerve to demand such a high salary," Ismail wrote.
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