Mosimane vs Regragui – the duel between the model and the next generation
The 2022 CAF Champions League final will not just be a clash between Al Ahly and Wydad Casablanca. It will also be a duel between the South African Pitso Mosimane and the Moroccan Walid Regragui.
Already a winner of three CAF Champions League titles with the Mamelodi Sundowns of Africa in 2016 and the last two with the Egyptian giants Al Ahly in 2020 and 2021, Mosimane can establish himself in the history of African football firmly.
Suppose the South African coach secures victory on Monday for the fourth CAF Champions League trophy in his career. In that case, he will equal the record set in this competition by one of his predecessors on the bench of the Cairo Red Devils, Manuel José.
The Portuguese trainer won the flagship continental title in 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2008.
Mosimane, having won all the available trophies in his country (league title and FA Cup and CAF Champions League), it is only fitting to conclude that he has succeeded in his foray abroad in one of the most competitive leagues in Africa, which is the Egyptian championship with the fans among the most demanding.
Revered in his country for turning around the fortunes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Mosimane has put Al Ahly back on the top of the continent by winning six titles (two Champions Leagues, an Egyptian FA Cup in 2020, an Egyptian league title in 2020 and two CAF Super Cups in 2020 and 2021) in just two years in charge of the Cairo-based giants.
If he did not experience the same triumphant trajectory with the Bafana-Bafana between 2010 and 2012, Mosimane, whose playing career allowed him to play in his country and Greece, remains a role model for African coaches, including his opponent on Monday, Walid Regragui.
Better than the South African, Regragui had a great career as a professional footballer, which led him to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations CAN 2004, in which they lost 2-1 to hosts Tunisia.
Born in France in 1975, he played in clubs in his native country and Spain mainly from 1998 to 2011 before becoming a coach with his first position as assistant to the national coach of Morocco from 2012 to 2014.
Regragui went to take care of clubs in Morocco (FUS Rabat) and Qatar (Al Duhail SC), and with these teams, the former Atlas Lions right-back won the league titles.
In August 2021, his Qatari bosses axed him following his elimination from the Asian Champions League. He landed at Wydad Casablanca, where he is on track to achieve a double.
With two matches before the end of Botola Pro 1, WAC leads the league table with 53 points, six points more than their closest rivals Raja who are on 49 points.
And in the CAF Champions League, he managed to sail his boat well, and his dream of winning the prestigious competition is within reach on home soil.
It will not be an easy task against Mosimane and his troops. Still, the victory will only be more beautiful for one of the legendary clubs of the Moroccan economic capital.
And besides, Wydad Casablanca’s last victory in the Champions League dates back to 2017, against Al Ahly (1-1 in Cairo and 1-0 in Casablanca).
Source: Cafonline