Marcel Koller, the former head coach of Al Ahly, spoke about his experience coaching the Red Team.

Marcel Koller said in statements to the Swiss newspaper Blick: "The shock of my dismissal from coaching Al Ahly? No one expected that... If you achieve such successes in Europe and then barely make it out of the semifinals of the African Champions League, you would still be secure in your position."

The Swiss coach added, "At Al Ahly, things work differently; everything can change after just one match. The club president might decide to cancel training on his own, and a few days later, he called the entire staff to his office to say goodbye to us personally. As a memento, we received a glass trophy."

He continued: "How did the fans react to my dismissal? When I headed to the airport after saying goodbye at the club, thank-you messages were displayed on giant screens in the streets."

He continued: "There was an appreciation for our work, but the fans, nonetheless, were very demanding. When we won a title, they didn't congratulate us; instead, they reminded us that there was another trophy to be won."

The newspaper posed a question to Koller, saying: "Experts say Al Ahly is the toughest club in the world. Have you ever felt greater pressure as a coach at another club?" The coach responded, "It was tough with the Cologne team as well... it was a difficult environment."

Marcel Koller concluded his statements by saying: "Although I promoted Lukas Podolski from the youth team to the first team at Cologne, I did not gain much trust."