Pitso’s possible destinations

If Al Wahda do terminate, these are…

What is the situation?

Pitso Mosimane has had what is understood to be a stable start to life in the United Arab Emirates. At the time of writing, his Al Wahda side were in sixth plac e on the log standings, having pic ked up three wins and suffered three losses in their opening six games. Given that Mosimane had been adjusting to life in a new league, without the luxury of bringing in his own players, his start to life at the c lub, although disappointing due to his high standards, has been one marked by progress. There had been pressure mounting on the Kagiso-born c oac h, having suffered three c onsec utive defeats. However, Mosimane’s c harges managed to turn things around with a 2-1 vic tory over Al Ittihad Kalba.

The rumours of the possible termination of his c ontrac t therefore c ame as a shoc k.

Al Wahda’s offic ial ac c ount initially posted a tweet c onfirming Mosimane was set to depart the c lub, though that tweet was quic kly deleted. Unfortunately for the c lub, various public ations had already pic ked up on it and ran with the news. As things stand, there has been no offic ial c onfirmation from Al Wahda on the c oac h’s future, though Siya sourc es have indic ated that the former Al Ahly mentor’s exit from the c lub is now imminent.

Mosimane joined Al Wahda in June this year along with his tec hnic al team members Kabelo Rangoaga, Kyle Solomons, Mahier Davids, Musi Matlaba as well as goalkeeper c oac h Hamad Alyami. At the time of the announc ement, there was no c onfirmation of the c oac h’s c ontrac t length, although Siya sourc es have indic ated that he put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the c lub, similar to his previous c ontrac ts.

Kaizer Chiefs

It is perhaps the one move fans are most desperate to see happen. Kaizer Chiefs, who have been without silverware sinc e the 2014/15 season, are in dire need of a c oac h with Mosimane’s expertise and big personality worthy of being at the helm of Amakhosi.

The c lub has, without muc h suc c ess, c hopped and c hanged c oac hes with no less than eight different men oc c upying the hotseat within five years.

Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt, Stuart Baxter, Arthur Zwane and Molefi Ntseki have all tried to restore the c lub’s glory days. However, silverware has been evading the Glamour Boys, who are c losing in on a dec ade of no trophy with the prospec t of lifting silverware this season bleak having been knoc ked out of the MTN8 and Carling Knoc kout, while they are nowhere near c ompeting for the DStv Premiership. This then means that the Nedbank Cup is their only realistic c hanc e of a trophy this season.

Bac k in June, Mosimane touc hed on the possibility of a potential move to Naturena, although he stated that a return to the PSL was not at the top of his list, though we are talking about Kaizer Chiefs here. Mosimane’s agenc y has hinted that the c oac h would be interested in a ‘projec t’.

“It’s not about Kaizer Chiefs, we will c oac h anywhere where there’s a projec t that we think is good and is right,” Mosimane told the media at his Soc c er Sc hools launc h earlier this year.

“But we’re not in a position to be sending applic ation forms. No, we don’t sign applic ation forms, no, no. If somebody really wants you, he will c ome to you, he will talk to you. Am I right? I’ll take a c all from anybody, I’m a professional, I’m a football c oac h. I don’t disc riminate, I don’t judge. I’m a professional,” he said.

“Jingles” is a serial winner, having proven this at every c lub he has c oac hed at and Chiefs at this moment would be the ideal fit for one of Afric a’s most suc c essful c oac hes.

Zamalek

Prior to Mosimane terminating his c ontrac t with Al Ahli Jeddah in May this year, he revealed via an interview

Pitso Mosimane’s future has again surfaced as a topic of significant discussion following the shock news that the 58-year-old is set to be released from his contract as Al Wahda coach, just four months after taking the reins at the club. If the reports emerging out of Egypt turn out to be true, the celebrated coach will have no shortage of options with his availability set to pique the interest of clubs both in South Africa and abroad, where he has been making a name for himself since his departure from Mamelodi Sundowns in 2020. With the ex-Bafana Bafana mentor rumoured to be on his way out of Al Wahda, Soccer Laduma takes a look at 5 of his possible destinations. with BeIN Sports that he had been targeted by Zamalek, although the timing of their approac h was not ideal. Now that the c oac h is said to be on his way out of Al Wahda, c ould the interest in his servic es from the c ountry where he was in c harge of Al Ahly be a c onsideration again?

Zamalek are the direc t rivals of Al Ahly, where Mosimane enjoyed c onsiderable suc c ess, although at the time the c oac h’s desire to remain in Asia was stronger.

“I rec eived an offer from Egyptian (c lub) Zamalek, but this time it is not appropriate to ac c ept the offer. If the c irc umstanc es were different, I would have wanted to c ontinue with Al Ahly of Egypt , but the c onditions of the Egyptian League nec essitated not working there,” he said at the time.

The Siya c rew reported that Zamalek c ould revisit their interest in the c oac h.

At present, they do have Colombian Juan Carlos Osorio as the team’s head c oac h. However, he has not had the best of starts to life at the c lub and has managed just two wins and two draws, while suffering one defeat in his opening five matc hes in c harge of the side.

Zamalek do have a new president in Hussein Labib, and if his tendenc ies are anything like his predec essor Mortada Mansour, the c oac h will have pressure to turn around his fortunes … and fast!

Morocco

Mosimane, through his various battles whilst in c harge of Mamelodi Sundowns and later Al Ahly, has established himself as a formidable c ompetitor in Moroc c o. He has also been waxing lyric al about the progression of Moroc c an football, where he is well ac quainted with both its top c lubs in Wydad Casablanc a and Raja Casablanc a.

“Coming bac k to Afric a isn’t easy. Sometimes you strive to win trophies and c onquer the Champions League with another team. I’ve always aspired to ac hieve suc c ess in North Afric a, partic ularly in Moroc c o,” he told Power FM in an interview in June.

Raja do c urrently have former Orlando Pirates c oac h Josef Zinnbauer at the helm. Though still undefeated in league ac tion, the German has pic ked up just three wins from his first seven games, with four of his side’s c lashes ending in draws.

Wydad, meanwhile, have Adil Ramzi as their head c oac h. The 46-year-old UEFA Pro Lic ense holder spent his years honing his skill in the Netherlands before taking c harge of Wydad in June this year.

He has enjoyed a positive start to life at the helm of the c lub and, at the time of writing, had guided the c lub to a semi-final berth in the luc rative Afric an Football League.

Saudi Arabia

In just nine months, the Kagisoborn c oac h proved what he c ould do in Saudi Arabia.

Not only did he manage to ac hieve his mandate of ensuring Al Ahli gain promotion to the Saudi Arabian Pro League, but he managed to do it in style by winning the Saudi First Division with one matc h to spare.

Al Ahli, however, reneged on their agreement that Mosimane’s c ontrac t would be extended by virtue of him winning the league, whic h saw the c oac h terminate his c ontrac t with the c lub.

An ugly FIFA dispute has ensued, with the outspoken mentor c onfirming that he had not rec eived a salary for five months.

“The first month, I got paid, but after the first month I had to wait for two months to get my money. (Sometimes) three months ... it has been like that,” he said in an interview with Saudi Arabia TV c hannel Al Arabiya. (Sinc e) I c ame here, I’ve never rec eived my salary every month. No, never, sinc e I’ve been at Al Ahli. We are going into the fifth month now (without getting paid). Me and my tec hnic al team. Even the players. Everybody. The last time we got there was in January,” he said in June.

Mosimane has already proven what he c an do in Saudi Arabia with limited resourc es and under diffic ult c irc umstanc es, and the c oac h will be hoping to get an opportunity to prove his worth at one of the oil-ric h c lubs if given the opportunity to do so.

Europe

Perhaps the faintest of possibilities for Mosimane is a move to Europe. The c oac h has over the last few years expressed his disappointment in the limited opportunities afforded to Afric an c oac hes by European c lubs.

His latest utteranc es c ame in an interview with Abu Dhabi TV, where he revealed that he has similar qualities, and in some instanc es, more trophies than his European c ounterparts. However, opportunities remain limited for him and other c oac hes from the Afric an c ontinent.

“Do you think Bayern Munic h will c ome to me? Let’s talk reality - they won’t! Bec ause they’ve got Thomas Tuc hel who I know and he spoke very well to me, but it’s not me,” he said.

“Let’s not even talk about Bayern, let’s talk about RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg... do you think they’ve got a c oac h who has got trophies like me? No one in history.

“Clubs in Europe take Afric an players, there is no team in Europe that doesn’t have Afric an players. From George Weah, Abedi Pele, who have all won the (UEFA) Champions League, where is the Afric an c oac hes? They only have Afric an players.

“You say let the Afric an c oac h have the quality - I’m here! Europe doesn’t want me. They don’t have a c oac h who has my CV.”

“Football is not about where you c ome from, football is not whether you are Afric an, but we need to look at it the way it is. You c an run around it, we c an esc ape, but Europe doesn’t hire Afric an c oac hes. My job is to build the trust and the legac y for Europe to say, ‘There’s something in Afric a, let’s give them a c hanc e’.”

Bafana Bafana

Mosimane was at the helm of the national team for two years between 2010 and 2012 but parted ways with Bafana Bafana after failing to qualify for the 2012 Afric a Cup of Nations.

The c oac h then dusted himself off in spec tac ular style with Mamelodi Sundowns, where he enjoyed a glorious eight-year spell.

Stints at Al Ahly and Al Ahli Jeddah and more rec ently Al Wahda have followed, but Mosimane’s time as Bafana c oac h, whic h was without a trophy, remains a thorn in his flesh.

“Well, there’s nothing wrong to do the national team again, huh?,” he said via his offic ial TikTok ac c ount in Marc h this year.

“It’s something on my plate and unfinished business bec ause that’s the only plac e where I never won a trophy, so why not? Maybe it’s a thorn in the flesh for me. Maybe a Cup of Nations, you never know. Anything c an happen, we dream big. An Afric an team winning the World Cup, it’s possible, hey.

“There’s always possibilities, you c an never say never. It’s open, I won’t lie; I would love to. Espec ially now with 11 (Afric an) teams in the next World Cup. I mean, everybody has a c hanc e there.”

A move at present would have to be put on the bac kburner however, after SAFA President Dr. Danny Jordaan revealed they are pleased with the work of c oac h Hugo Broos, who managed to qualify Bafana for next year’s Afric a Cup of Nations amid questions over whether Mosimane would be c onsidered for the job again.

“Pitso Mosimane is a good c oac h, but we now have a c oac h who has qualified for the Afric an Nations Cup and we are not ready to c hange the c oac h at the moment,” Dr. Jordaan told Karim Ramzy via Channel One.