A manager who lost his job after his side was dumped out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is "shocked", according to his assistant.
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After Egypt crashed out of the tournament at the round of 16 stage, Portuguese tactician Rui Vitoria's dismissal was confirmed by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) earlier this week.
He has since been replaced by Egypt legend Hossam Hassan, whose appointment was announced on Tuesday.
Vitoria's assistant manager Ayman Abdelaziz has since admitted that he and his ex-colleague were taken aback by the EFA's decision, insisting the players were big fans of the 53-year-old.
"Yes, I did not expect Vitoria's dismissal, especially as you are on the verge of the two most important matches in the World Cup qualifiers against Guinea and Burkina Faso," he said, according to KingFut.
"Vitoria is shocked by his dismissal. In a country like Egypt, decisions are fast and emotional, and people follow the opinions of the street and social media. There is no justification for dismissing the coaching staff.
"Was Vitoria wronged? Of course, ask the players, all of them want him to come and coach their teams, even the players who didn't participate.
"He is an irreplaceable coach, especially since his statistics are good. Certainly, our exit from the round of 16 is bad, but I haven't seen this happening in Morocco or Senegal. Morocco is fourth in the world and exited from the round of 16. I had no doubt that we wouldn't win the AFCON. The results before the tournament indicated that.
"We faced bad luck due to injuries, and the absence of the best football player in the world Mohamed Salah, Mohamed El Shenawy, and Emam Ashour. We were surprised by the absence of five important players due to injury.
"Trezeguet's temperature rose before the DR Congo match, and his replacement was to be Marmoush. However, the team doctor informed us that Marmoush would not participate because he was almost dying due to his high temperature.
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"Emam Ashour requested to play against DR Congo, but we refused his participation out of concern for him."
Vitoria oversaw just 18 matches in charge of the Pharaohs, losing on only two occasions.
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