What the Siya crew has been told...
"Look, there's always a team to coach. There was a team while we were still busy with Abha, there's a team after Abha, and there was a team yesterday," Pitso Mosimane told Soccer Laduma last week.
"There's always a team; it's about which team? Why this team and why not that team? There are teams in the Middle East, the USA, South Africa, and North Africa. Remember, there's Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and all that. We have stepped in all those places. So, there's always a team, but it's a question of which one, where, and what they have. I'm busy this month; I have a lot of things happening, like the PMSS (Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools), receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg, and spending a bit of time with my family. I have to make sure the in- duction of coaches is correct here; it's my program, and I have to con- duct workshops with the coaches. We have 500 children and I have to be there. We have started a project in Mamelodi, Roodepoort, Boks- burg and Midrand," the coach added. Mosimane's sentiments were echoed by the Managing Director of MT Sports and Marketing Moira Tlhagale, who is both his wife and agent, revealing that they are open to taking up any new avenue that is worthwhile, including that of clubs in South Africa.
"Look, coach Pitso is a coach through and through. I think what I respect most about his love for football is him saying that all he wants to do is coach, and leave a legacy while doing so. His next project will definitely be in coaching. But you know, it's something you don't control. It depends on what comes to the table. Some- times the offers would come, but they don't make sense. Sometimes, it's not a project that is good enough for him and that he feels comfortable taking. Now that he is here (in South Africa), he wants to take the opportunity to engage with his coaches and go to all the sites," revealed Tlhagale. Besides Kaizer Chiefs, who this publication has been reliably in- formed are yet to make a formal approach to the coach's camp for his services, Mosimane is a man who doesn't mind biding his time when it comes to his next move. With a proven track record span- ning across three countries, 'Jingles' has more than displayed why he is not one to throw his CV in boxes for jobs and that the pro- jects come looking for him.
What are the facts?
Mosimane's camp has been adamant that a project is what they prioritize when selecting a club; his last three appointments have been indications thereof. In 2022, the former Bafana Bafana coach took on the challenge of promoting sleeping giants Al Ahli Jeddah back to the Saudi Arabian top- flight after a shock relegation the year before. After falling out with the club's management, Mosimane joined UAE's Al-Wahda; how- ever, his stint was short-lived, taking charge of just 10 matches at the club. It wouldn't be long be- fore Saudi came knocking again, this time with a completely different challenge: keeping relegation-threatened Abha Club afloat, a task Mosimane and his trusted henchmen nearly pulled off, were it not for a final day defeat. Is becoming a fixer at smaller clubs rather than challenging for titles at bigger clubs an indication of change in Mosimane's ambition? His management would think not, pointing towards stints at SuperSport United, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Al Ahly, where he achieved success after finding the clubs in precarious positions.
"Look, I don't think there's been any change in direction. I mean, let's start at SuperSport; when he went there, they were at the bottom of the log, ranked 14th. He was there for seven years and took them to a team that was always second or third until he went to Bafana. Then he went to
Sundowns, who had not won (a trophy) for seven years, they were also 14th. He stayed there for seven years, and now they have become champions and earned a star. Then he went to Al Ahly in Egypt, which had not won the CAF Champions League for seven years. He went there and won two Champions League titles in 10 months; I'm not even going to talk about the FIFA Club World Cup bronze medals. Then he went to Jeddah, where he found a team that, in terms of size, was like Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, or Sundowns; it was a top-three team that had been relegated. His mandate there was just to bring the team back, but he did not only do that; he also won the League. At Al Wahda, we didn't spend enough time, and we were lucky at Al Ahli Jeddah because, if you remember, when we joined, it was around the time of the FIFA World Cup, and he could use that time as a pre-season to better pre- pare the team. At Abha, we didn't have enough time; the ship was already going down. So, I don't think anything has changed if you look at what I just said. He has been able to come into teams, as good as they are, and really put them in better positions, so he always says that when he gets to a team, he wants to leave them in a better position than what he found them. And I think with all the teams he was able to do that," Tlhagale told Soccer Laduma.
The story behind the scenes...
Has the Abha relegation dented Mosimane's CV?
For a coach like Mosimane, who prides himself on lifting trophies, he has won 19 so far. His last two stints, although short-lived, were perhaps not as successful as he would have preferred them to be. Particularly during his short spell with Abha, he picked up the un- wanted blemish of relegation on his glittering CV. But Mosimane's camp is adamant that the experience was a learning curve and that it would not dent his CV, which ranks amongst some of the most decorated in Africa.
"I think if you can do research on all the top coaches in the world, everyone has had a dip," Tlhagale said.
"Life itself shows that nobody just goes higher all the time. But I think what is also important is to test yourself, and as a manager, I can always sit with them and advise, but in the end, it is Coach Pitso and his team's decision. And when I analysed it, I thought that it would be difficult, but we all thought that it was achievable. And if you look at the stats of coach Pitso and his team Kabelo Rangoaga, Mmusi Matlaba, Kyle Solomons, Mahier Davids and coach Hamed Alyami, they took over at Abha Club until the last match. They could have even finished in 10th position. They found the team already at the very bottom, and if you look at the gap that they were able to close, it's not to say that they left the team worse off.
You can say that they left the team in a better position, but they were not able to avoid relegation. So, yes, people might say that the team was relegated, and they were not able to save it, but for us, we say that we left the team in a better position than when we started. In life, you learn that there are certain things that you can do and that you can only do so much. So, from our side, we feel that it's a very good lesson that he's learnt that has given him a very different perspective of being a very good coach, having a very good team with very good players and also being able to motivate them. Unfortunately, the ship was already sinking as much as he tried to keep it afloat. But for us, we don't feel like it has tainted his CV in any way because if you look around the world, there's no perfect coach that has never gone down," she added.
Watch this space
With Kaizer Chiefs seemingly having turned their attention away from Mosimane, the former Bafana coach is not losing sleep over his next job. Rather, he is biding his time with his 60th birthday on the horizon, taking care of his school's programme, and preparing to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg before making his next move. With options in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the USA, and North Africa, you can expect Mosimane to be quite picky about his next club, though he would be hoping for a longer reign, with his last two stints having lasted for approximately four months each.
