Marcello Lippi was among the candidates to replace Shehata

Will Lippi (L) succeed Shehata (R) as Egypt's coach Italian 2006 World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi was among the candidates to replace Hassan Shehata as Egypt's head coach, EFA chairman Samir Zaher said. Egypt were on the verge of appointing Nelo Vingada as their new coach lately but the Portuguese back-tracked on his agreement with the EFA in order to take charge of China.
"Many coaches were interested in managing Egypt, including former Italy boss Lippi but we were focused on hiring Vingada, that's why we didn't look into alternatives," Zaher, who came under fire recently for his handling of several headline-grabbing issues, said in a television interview.
"Maybe Vingada's deal collapse will be a blessing in disguise as it could allow us to look for better coaches."
Lippi guided Italy to their fourth World Cup triumph in 2006 in Germany but has been without a job since leaving the Azzurri after they embarrassingly failed to get beyond the group stage at last year's edition in South Africa.
"The letter I received shows that Lippi wants to manage Egypt. We will consider that," Zaher added.
"But anyway, we are not in a rush. We have time to make the best choice for the national team."
Egypt sacked long-serving coach Shehata last month after a goalless draw at home to South Africa virtually ended their hopes of reaching next year's African Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
The Pharaohs are the record winners of the biennial tournament with seven titles under their belt.ahramonline.