Our partners On the Whistle podcast have chatted with Al Ahly manager Pitso Mosimane on his recent move to Al Ahly, his plans for the future and what it means to become Al Ahly’s first Black and sub-Saharan coach.
In the latest episode of On the Whistle podcast, which is co-panelled by KingFut.com editor Ahmad Yousef, former PSL Champion and panellist Courtney Freese spoke to Al Ahly’s recently appointed South African manager Pitso Mosimane.
Becoming Al Ahly manager
Becoming manager of Africa’s most successful side is no easy feat for anyone; however, Pitso has rightly earned his position. He attributes his victories against Egyptian sides in the CAF Champions League as a major eye-opener for Al Ahly saying, “I was brought here because of the titles that I won and because I’ve defeated Al Ahly twice and one of the top teams here in Zamalek. And they know me. They know my name … it has nothing to do with colour or politics.”
He was also full of praise for Al Ahly president and legend Mahmoud ‘Bibo’ El Khatib stating, “ He’s a legend… it’s like having Kenny Dalglish becoming president of Liverpool.”
Pitso elaborated that when discussing the role, Bibo was clear on his target: to win the CAF Champions League and the Egyptian Cup. Pitso said, “He said we haven’t won the Champions League for the last seven years and we went to the cup final three times (in the last four years), but we never won it. So we need to take a different approach and let’s get somebody who knows the continent – who lives in it.”
He added, “His head was on the block for appointing the first sub-Saharan coach to lead Al Ahly…Now he’s proven right, we won the trophy, and everything is good.”
Club World Cup
Pitso also discussed Al Ahly’s realistic chances at the Club World Cup. Pitso said, “The level is the highest level over there it could possibly be, and it’s very difficult to win, but what’s important is to go there, and do the best of our abilities so that everyone can see that you’ve done the best against the best teams in the world, so there’s nothing bigger for me and Al Ahly.”
He added that teams like Bayern Munich would be hard to defeat. Still, there is always hope, saying “Any coach that goes to any tournament believes that he can win it, but the reality is how do you manage Bayern Munich who just defeated the mighty Barcelona 8-2, with an aggregate score of 8-2, with Lionel Messi on the pitch. But anything is possible, Leicester City has showed you that anything is possible.”
Goals for the season
Pitso was optimistic about the future at Al Ahly and has hopes of surpassing last season’s treble. Pitso said, “We have a chance to do better than the treble. I think we will beat the treble. We can beat the treble. It’s possible if we win the two trophies, the two Super Cups.”
Finally, he ended with, “Anything is possible, that’s what I want to promise them (fans).”
For the full podcast and insight into Pitso’s career, future career desires and disappointment at not being shortlisted for the FIFA Best Coaches award follow the links below:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3dHicby
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4uWD46WKhHHaNI8v5ocHBH?si=I0y09YtkTFSNWvDo8YIrJA
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