Former SuperSport United and Kaizer Chiefs defender Siboniso Gaxa has revealed his top five greatest ever Premier Soccer League coaches, with Pitso Mosimane taking the number one spot.
Long before Gaxa became a household name at clubs like Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns, he was shaped by Mosimane at SuperSport.
The former Bafana Bafana and Al Ahly coach gave Gaxa his professional debut in 2002. Under Mosimane’s guidance, the retired defender developed into a key player in a Matsatsantsa side that was known for being difficult to beat and consistently competing with the big guns.
“Pitso Mosimane is my number one, and then Rulani Mokwena, Ted Dumitru, Stuart Baxter and Manqoba Mngqithi,” Gaxa said on the Apex Sports International podcast.
“The reason Pitso is the best…he coached me, professionally, he was my first PSL coach, I think I was fortunate enough that we developed together, as coach and player. It was his first contract as a head coach [at SuperSport].
SIBONISO GAXA EXPLAINS PITSO MOSIMANE’S IMPACT
The Durban-born legend also said that, in his view, Mosimane shifted South African football as a whole at SuperSport. He claimed that many players enjoyed their football most under Mosimane.
Gaxa, currently listed as a candidate attorney at ENS, a prominent law firm in Johannesburg, described how Mosimane’s squad was full of young, hungry players eager to establish themselves, and how Mosimane managed to get the best out of them both individually and as a team.
He also noted that Mosimane was working on earning his coaching badges at the same time, reflecting his strong ambition.
‘HE WANTED US TO PLAY LIKE AC MILAN’
“When it came to details, he was so serious. He really went into detail. Pitso fully watched other teams and individual players,” Gaxa added.
“He would say that he wanted us to play like AC Milan and Clarence Seedorf, for example. Pitso told us to go watch them. And when we came back, we had to do exactly what they were doing in the previous match.
“He coached with such conviction that he made his individual expectations clear, ensuring the team executed the exact system he wanted to play.
“So he was not just an ordinary person. He worked with fine details. Pitso was very good at executing his ideas from the training pitch to the matches. He was great at adaptation, investment and improving players,” Gaxa concluded.
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