Ahmed Hossam Mido, the former Egypt national team star, has attacked Hossam Hassan, the current head coach of the Pharaohs, following his comments about Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.
Hassan is facing sharp criticism after speaking about El Shenawy, who is currently absent from the Pharaohs' squad.
The head coach claimed he had called up El Shenawy during earlier spells with the national team despite the goalkeeper being considered "finished" at Al Ahly.
Mido hit back on X: "Hossam Hassan's statements carry a great deal of narcissism, and give the impression that he sees himself as superior to every club coach, starting with his talk about redeploying Mohamed Salah in the middle of the pitch, through his talk about restoring El Shenawy to his level, all the way to belittling the role of Al Ahly's medical staff, on the basis that they were unable to get Emam Ashour fit, and that his joining the national team was the reason for saving him."
He went on: "Matters did not stop there, but extended to belittling the value of Egyptian league players, despite the fact that they represent the essential foundation and the main element in the Egyptian national team's victories throughout its history."
The Zamalek legend stressed: "We have entered a dangerous stage, in which the national team coach has become the cause of a great deal of controversy and confusion around the team, and puts the officials in an awkward position, especially before an important match for the Pharaohs."
Turning to Hassan's conduct, he explained: "Here we are not talking about the coach's personal life or the problems he is going through, but rather about the way he deals with situations, which makes me see him as a distracted coach under great pressure, who explodes at any simple question from journalists."
Mido affirmed: "What we are talking about is the loss of any real opportunity to develop the Egyptian national team under the leadership of Hossam Hassan. Therefore, the officials must intervene and take a clear stance, because what is happening cannot be ignored or treated as if it were normal."
Driving the point home, he noted: "The harm resulting from the coach's personality and the way he makes his statements has, in my opinion, become far greater than the benefit that comes to the Egyptian national team."
His parting shot: "The Al Ahly fans are angry, the Zamalek fans are sad, and at a time when the fans had finally begun to rally around the national team again, we find that these statements contribute, for the millionth time, to driving the supporters away from their national team because of the head coach's unbalanced statements."