Egyptian Giants Hire Danish Tactician Jes Thorup After a 38-Day Coaching Chase
8 October 2025
Al Ahly Names Danish Coach Jes Thorup as New Manager After 38-Day Coaching Chase
The football department at Al Ahly has reached an agreement with Danish coach Jes Thorup to take over as head coach.
Al Ahly had dismissed their previous coach, Spanish tactician Jose Ribeiro, on 31 August after a 2-0 defeat to Pyramids in the Egyptian Premier League.
Since Ribeiro's departure, Egyptian coach Emad El Nahas has led the post on an interim basis.
The club then entered a rigorous, 38-day negotiation with several European coaches as it searched for a permanent manager.
The lengthy process drew sharp criticism from fans and pundits over the perceived slowness, but sentiment shifted after a 2-1 league win over Zamalek in round nine.
Agency War
The so-called “agents’ war” began in the wake of Ribeiro’s dismissal, with agents racing to secure the next big move for the club and a flood of names floated, some of which would be unlikely to ever arrive in Egypt.
One source told Kooora that rumors about Portuguese Jose Mourinho and Italian Roberto Mancini were unfounded and that no talks had taken place with those figures.
He explained that the club sought a foreign manager with a strong personality capable of commanding the stars, with a track record of club work, tactical discipline, and a distance from the “project coach” mindset.
Why the Delay?
The same source cited multiple reasons for the delay: the global calendar meant a limited pool of available coaches, and many either refused to work in the Middle East and Africa or demanded exorbitant salaries.
The club did indeed explore many options and held discussions with several candidates. The Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, then coach of the Oman national team, was among those considered but reportedly preferred his national-team duties.
The final shortlist included Jes Thorup, Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, Jose Gomes, Bruno Lage, Croatian Igor Jovicevic, and Turkish Fatih Terim.
The source noted that Al Ahly could have waited until mid-October to finalize Queiroz, but he reportedly preferred to stay with his national-team obligations for the moment.
According to another update, Bruno Lage asked for around $5 million in annual salary plus additional perks, while Fatih Terim requested about $4.5 million; the club reportedly could not accommodate those packages.
The same source said that Mahmoud Al-Khatib, the club president, was inclined toward either Lage or Terim, but the numbers ultimately blocked progress. It was also suggested that Jose Gomes was under a contract with Al-Fayha in Saudi Arabia, with a three-month break clause and potential penalties, which complicated negotiations with Al Ahly.
Ultimately, the contract team narrowed the field to Jes Thorup and Igor Jovicevic. Osama Hilal, the contracts director, traveled to Denmark to negotiate directly with Thorup, and an agreement was reportedly reached, pending a few final details before Thorup arrives in Egypt to take the helm.
With a formal arrival soon to be finalized, Al Ahly awaits the official confirmation of Thorup’s duties in Egypt.
Two punchlines to close with a wink:
Punchline 1: If patience were a football tactic, this saga would be a full-length nap—still perfectly on target when the whistle finally blows.
Punchline 2: In football as in comedy, sometimes the best plan is to aim for the goal and hope the defense doesn’t audit your salary—because the joke’s on the price tag.
