Coach Pitso Mosimane’s management firm has revealed why he snubbed top job offers to join lowly Saudi Arabia side Al Ahli Saudi FC.
Mosimane was, after his exit from Al Ahly, the subject of interest from top clubs and national teams. Simba SC of Tanzania, Morocco’s Raja Casablanca and Iraq’s national team are some of the teams that he was linked to.
However, Mosimane shocked the football world when he accepted the job for the second-tier Saudi Arabia league side, Al Ahli, in October 2022.
WHY MOSIMANE SNUBBED JOB OFFERS
MTSports10, the agency managing Mosimane’s affairs, says he was looking for the right football project. The project had to resonate with his motto of Changing the game for good.
The agency says Mosimane is not just about coaching, but he is a football strategist who has always impacted teams he has worked for.
“Pitso Mosimane has navigated his career over the years in a manner that not only changes the trajectory of a club over time but changes the game in a manner that positively impacts the club and players,” MT Sports said.
“The history and legacy of the clubs and teams that coach Pitso and his technical team have been able to work with over many years speaks volumes to how they approach each chapter of their coaching journey.”
Mosimane’s representatives chronicled his journey from SuperSport United to Mamelodi Sundowns. Of course, his success was at Downs, where he won their first-ever CAF Champions League trophy in 2016.
The firm says Mosimane went to Al Ahly with a specific mandate to bring back the CAF Champions League title.
MOSIMANE’S TRACK RECORD
Al Ahly had last won the continental title in the year 2013 when Mosimane arrived in 2020 after quitting Sundowns.
The former Bafana Bafana handler left the Egyptian side in June 2022. This was after bagging two CAF Champions League titles in three attempts.
He also won two FIFA Club World Cup bronze medals, Egyptian Cup and Egyptian Super Cup at the Cairo giants.
The agency says that is the impact that Mosimane brings to every club he manages.
“Having left Al Ahly SC three months ago, MTSports received numerous offers from clubs and national teams around the world for the services of coach Pitso and his dream team.
“However, the mandate that MT Sports received from the coaches was to only take on an interesting and challenging project that will enable them to have an impact in turning a team into champions.”
Mosimane started working for the Saudi Arabia side in October 2022. He took his backroom team of Kabelo Rangoaga, Musi Matlaba and Kyle Solomon.
MOSIMANE’S TRACK RECORD
“With coach Pitso Mosimane’s experience and his track record of being the football coach turnaround strategist, the CAF Pro License coaching graduate and one of the most successful coaches in Africa, he is more than suitable for this role,” the statement adds.
“The opportunity to lead such a prestigious club in Saudi Arabia presents itself as the perfect project to yield a win-win result for both parties.”
Al Ahli was founded in 1937 and ranks among the biggest teams and founders of the Saudi Arabia Professional League.
However, Al Ahli were relegated at the end of the 2021/22 season. But, six months after Mosimane took over, they are in pole position in the log table of Saudi’s second-tier league.
Mosimane has been tasked with earning Al Ahli promotion to the top-flight league. He looks on track to achieve that and rub shoulders with Cristiano Ronaldo next season.
The legendary Portuguese star turns out for Al Nassr FC in the Saudi top division.
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