Zamalek coach Carteron resigns before Caf Champions League semi-finals

Patrice Carteron has resigned as Zamalek manager a few weeks before their Caf Champions League semi-final outing against Raja Casablanca.

Carteron's shocking exit comes three days after he led the Whites to a 1-0 victory over El Entag El Harby in an Egyptian Premier League encounter on Sunday.

The 50-year-old succeeded Zambia coach Milutin Sredojevic at the helm of affairs at Zamalek in December 2019, and he guided the Egyptian club to success on the continent and at home during his brief stay.

Thanks to his impressive start to life at the Cairo International Stadium, the Egyptian giants offered Carteron a new contract and he signed to remain at the club until the end of the 2020-21 season.

He helped the Cairo-based outfit win the 2020 Caf Super Cup in February after a 3-2 win over Esperance de Tunis. Six days later, they lifted the Egyptian Super Cup after defeating Al Ahly on penalties.

Zamalek confirmed Carteron left the club due to personal reasons with an apology note from the former France defender to the club faithful.

"Patrice Carteron apologises to Zamalek for not completing his assignment as the football team coach, due to personal reasons," the club tweeted.

The former Raja Casablanca and Phoenix Rising manager left Zamalek second on the Egyptian Premier League table with an unbeaten run in their last five games. They gathered 55 points after 27 matches, which put them 17 points behind leaders Al Ahly.

Zamalek travel to Morocco for the first-leg of their Champions League match against Raja Casablanca on October 17 after it was postponed last week due to increasing number of coronavirus infections in the North African country.

They will host the Moroccan giants for the reverse fixture a week later at the Cairo International Stadium as they chase their first title in the elite African competition since 2002.