Al Ahly’s management finds itself in an unenviable position regarding the future of coach Jess Thorup. While the consensus is that he must leave, implementing this seems nearly impossible at present.
Al Ahly exited the CAF Champions League in the quarter-finals after losing to Esperance 4-2 on aggregate, and the Red Devils have also slipped to third place in the Egyptian Premier League.
According to Egyptian media reports, the biggest obstacle to dismissing Thorup is the penalty clause in his contract. Al Ahly would have to pay more than €6 million to terminate his contract, given that he has two years remaining on his contract.
The most likely scenario for Thorup is to remain in his position. The only way he could be dismissed is if the management succeeds in reaching a mutual agreement with him to terminate the contract, resulting in him receiving less compensation than stipulated in the original contract.
However, Al Ahly’s management is concerned about entering into negotiations with Torop to reduce the penalty clause, only to have him refuse, just as happened previously with Marcel Koller. This would severely impact the team’s performance in the crucial upcoming period of the current season.
If Thorup refuses to terminate the contract amicably, he will finish the season with the team feeling like he has a knife in his back. He will lose faith in the management and realize they are plotting against him. He might even try to force the management to dismiss him in order to receive his full salary.
It’s worth noting that Thorup took over as Al Ahly’s coach last October, succeeding Spaniard José Ribeiro. Despite a promising start, results have declined significantly under his leadership, beginning with an early exit from the Egyptian Cup against Telecom Egypt and culminating in a resounding defeat against Esperance.
