Pitso Mosimane, who is arguably the greatest coach of all time to have come out of South Africa, has achieved a huge milestone after leading Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli Jeddah to promotion despite the challenges the team faced previously.
Jingles, as Mosimane is known in football circles, achieved the milestone on Wednesday night, following the team's impressive 2-1 win over Hajer Club.
Mosimane had bravely taken the challenge late last year to help get the club to Saudi Pro League after it was relegated at the end of the 2021/22 season.
With his latest achievement, Mosimane has managed to win titles in Mzansi, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Talking about the achievement, the 58-year-old mentor took to Twitter and stated, "They told us that we are (undertaking) a career suicide, that the team has lot of problems (management, finances etc) but we bravely took the project, irrespective. They also us told we can't resuscitate the sleeping giant. We daily whispered to it and tonight, it responded. It's awake."
Mzansi coach Morena Ramoreboli, who is on a mission of his own to win the league in Botswana, speaks highly of the tactician.
The Good
"If you remember his (Mosimane) first press conference after he got the job, he said that his main duty was to awake the sleeping giant that the club had been. I think he has done exactly that. It cannot be easy for a coach to leave Africa and go to Saudi Arabia and perform the way coach Pitso has done unless you made a proper analysis of the standard and the level of football in that country and the type of players you would find there. What I am impressed about is that coach Pitso was courageous to go out and make people there aware that there is potential and talent in Africa. People like Pitso are opening doors for many of us. One thing that one will always be grateful of is that any time you want to talk to coach Pitso he will be available for you as humble as he is always. I'm very happy that he has managed to achieve that. It comes back to us as South African to understand that there are only two spots available for professional coaches in the country. The world is waiting for us. I'm in Botswana now and I saw that coach Solly Luvhengo is in Swaziland. SA coaches are starting to go out to make a name for themselves and coach Pitso started it. I'm happy for him and his technical team who are mostly from Mzansi. When you are a coach in a foreign country, legends and all the other people who are associated with that club often criticize even if they had been there and failed to do things properly for the club. I remember reading an article where a legend of that club was saying even if coach Pitso can promote the club he wasn't playing good football. But you are playing to win the game, and in that case, tactically you are going to play differently from a team that is entertaining," said Ramoreboli.
The Bad
Bafana Era
"This is one part that needs people to concentrate fully. Pitso Mosimane is the same coach that was fired by SAFA. This is the same coach who maybe didn't get the support from the people of South Africa. The world out there allowed coach Pitso to express himself and experiment he is now achieving bigger things because some people were very patient with him. I still thank Mr. (Patrice) Motsepe for making sure that he didn't become impatient with coach Pitso. Being patient with him, Pitso ended up becoming a top coach," he said.
The Ugly
Legends Putting Pressure On Coaches
"You are not going to stop that because it's their opinions and how they feel. As a coach, that's where you need to develop a thick skin and you need to mentally strong. Some of us are still young and are on social media and we see the things that are being said and they can hurt you sometimes. But sometimes you do need two, three or four people to remind you that you are perfect for you to double your efforts," the coach added.
That's A Lesson From Coach Pitso
"But sometimes you do need two, three or four people to remind you that you are perfect for you to double your efforts. For me, whether people are saying negative things about me and whether people are criticizing my methods and all of that, one thing I always aim for is to have a goal and forget about everything that people are saying about me. That's a lesson from coach Pitso. He worked very hard and he won the Champions League and other trophies for the same people that were criticising him," concluded Ramoreboli.
Is Pitso The Greatest Coach Off All Time In Mzansi?
