Zamalek striker Amr Zaki has admitted that his relationship with Portuguese coach Manuel Cajuda has hit rock bottom. The 23-year-old ace was omitted from Zamalek's starting lineup that faced Ittihad Libya in the Arab Champions League on Tuesday. "Cajuda accused me publicly of faking injury and deliberately omitted me from the starting lineup based on that," Zaki told FilGoal.com late on Wednesday. Zaki had initially refused to fly to Libya for the game due to an injury to his ear drum, but Cajuda insisted the player was "running away from responsibility". "He insisted that I was running away even though a caught up with the team in Tripoli after taking the necessary precautions," said Zaki. The former Lokomotiv Moscow player, who joined Zamalek after a summer-long courtship, said that Cajuda's callous approach was not directed at him alone, but at some of the team's top players.
Cajuda has had several bust-ups with Zamalek players "He (Cajuda) just doesn't like or want some players," said Zaki. "Everybody knows his attitude towards captain Hazem Emam and some of the team's veterans like Tarek Al-Sayed and Ibrahim Saied. "I guess I'm next on his list." Zaki has received to offers from Premiership sides Manchester City and Sheffield United, worth 2 million sterling pounds ($3.8 million) each and its becoming highly likely that the Egyptian international completes a move in January. Meanwhile, Zamalek club general manager, Alaa Meklid, has voiced the board's support for Cajuda. Meklid said that as long as Cajuda's policies are bringing order into the team and producing positive results, Zamalek's officials will back him up. On the other hand, Meklid said that Zamalek will dispense EGP 4,000 for each player for beating Ittihad on penalties and qualifying for the ACL quarter-finals.
