Pitso doubts if Pirates will challenge for title
CAF return might test Bucs, he says
Fresh from lifting the Absa Premiership, Pitso Mosimane has all but dismissed the prospect of Orlando Pirates mounting a successful championship bid next season, questioning if they have the resilience to compete on all fronts.
Pirates will end the season in second place, guaranteeing a return to continental football, after their title challenge fizzled out last weekend with a defeat at Cape Town City, while Mosimane saw Mamelodi Sundowns to a record eighth title and a third of his six-year spell with victory over Ajax Cape Town.
“They have the [CAF] Champions League next year. But do they have the experience?” Mosimane asked yesterday. “Sure they have the coach [Milutin Sredojevic]. Micho knows the Champions League. But does [Thembinkosi] Lorch know it? What about [Luvuyo] Memela? And the boy from Zambia [Justin Shonga]?
“Let’s face it, Pirates have been playing every seven days. Can they play every three days like us? They had enough rest this season. They were not even in the top eight. They were fresh.”
Traversing the airports throughout the continent and returning to find you have a mid-week league fixture could also count against the Buccaneers, Mosimane said.
“You’re in transit, on flights, then when you land you have a match two days later. Do they [Pirates] have the mentality?”
Mosimane’s team are back in continental action this Saturday, beginning their Champions League group phase against defending champions Wydad Casablanca (Lucas Moripe Stadium, 9pm), who knocked Sundowns out in the quarterfinals last year. Sundowns will go into the match without their star player Percy Tau, who is serving a suspension.
But Mosimane sounded confident, saying he will still be able to field a strong team, with the departing Khama
‘‘ Let’s face it, can Pirates play every three days like us?
Billiat leading the attack.
“Everybody else but Percy is available. I will have Khama back at number nine.”
Billiat might be playing one of his last games in the Sundowns jersey, as Mosimane expects him to depart for Qarabag, of Azerbaijan.
“That’s the rumour that he’s going to Qarabag. And they pay big money there. He has not renewed with us so I’m over him. I’ve accepted he’s gone. But let’s be honest, he gave us a good five years, so it’s time to let go.”
Following Mamelodi Sundowns’ league triumph, head coach Pitso Mosimane is not going to fix what is not broken.
Gone are the days when Sundowns used to sign “15 players” in one transfer window, says Jingles, as Mosimane was known as a player.
He has confirmed that Khama Billiat, their best attacker over the past few seasons, is headed for the exit.
Until now, the Zimbabwean international had refused to sign a new contract and is a free agent from June 30.
Billiat though is not the only one on his way out. Rumour has it that Ghanaian goalkeeper Brimah Razak may be sacrificed to make space for Toni Silva, the Guinea-Bissau international, who is an attacking midfielder.
For months, defenders Asavela Mbekile and Thabo Nthethe have also been reported to be leaving.
More recently, right-back Anele Ngcongca admitted that he is considering a return to Belgium, where he spent almost a decade with Genk.
His former Genk mentor Frank Vercauteren has called on the 30 -year-old to join him at Cercle Brugge.
In addition to Silva, winger Katlego Otladisa is set to arrive from Platinum Stars. While there have been a host of other names linked with Sundowns, including Bolivian midfielder Leonel Justiniano and Baroka’s Talent Chawapiwa, Mosimane insists he will keep faith in the current squad.
“I must be loyal to the boys who do it week in and week out, more especially when they deliver,” Mosimane said after lifting his third league title at the helm of the Brazilians last weekend.
The 53-year-old believes that wholesale changes may affect the team. Except for a few players who are on loan, Mosimane has a squad of about 34 and attacking players appear to be a priority for the coach.
He has ruled out a move for Bafana Bafana international Andile Jali, who is a free agent. He argued that no South African club has the best deal for local players returning from overseas.
Jali was, until recently, in the books of Belgian side, KV Oostende. Up front, Mosimane is convinced that his January big signing, Jeremy Brockie, will eventually come right. The former SuperSport United hitman has failed to score for Sundowns in over 10 games.
‘ ‘ I must be loyal to the boys who do it week in and week out