For Pitso, coaching football is about the people in his care
● Pitso Mosimane’s perspective on coaching is centred on the human being before the tactics.
“I don’t coach football, I coach human beings,” is a phrase he often presents when discussing his approach to handling players and getting the best out of them.
The Mamelodi Sundowns coach signed a four-year contract extension on Thursday, which will allow him to be 10-and-a-half years at the Chloorkop club where he has delivered nine trophies.
Over and above his tactical acumen, the secret of his success is couched in caring about his players.
Showing his support when there’s bereavement in their families is one example of cementing his connection with his crew.
“You show your face to the player’s family. The mothers in these families they’ll tell the boy ‘uyabona mfana ungenzi enye into, ukhoshi loya ungamphoxi [you see boy don’t be naughty, you see that coach, don’t disappoint him’].
“I go to the extent of asking the families if the player is helping with the groceries. And the parents are able to call me and say ‘hey coach we no longer see much of this boy around home, we don’t have food’.
“I call the boy aside and tell him to fix these things.
“You need to pitch at that level and that is the secret. You’ve got to understand, it’s way deeper than winning a game.”
The confirmation of Mosimane’s new contract at Sundowns reverberated well beyond the borders of SA, and there’s no surprise there.
After all, some of the top North African clubs were not hiding their admiration of the former Bafana Bafana player and tactician, who is now among the highest-paid coaches in Africa after winning seven domestic trophies, a Caf Champions League and a Super Cup in his first seven-and-a-half years with the Brazilians.
The North African giants were hoping to swipe Mosimane’s signature from under the noses of some of the local teams that the
Sundowns coach revealed had also made overtures.
“The Moroccans were asking ‘How can you stay in that team for so long? Are you a president’s [Patrice Motsepe’s] son?’,” said a jovial Mosimane moments after club boss Motsepe ended all the speculation on Thursday.
Support from the boardroom, technical team, players and club supporters, whose numbers and singing have grown tremendously in the past six years, is what Mosimane bases his success on.
“Sometimes we as coaches, we forget that we’re just directing and guiding,” says Mosimane, highlighting how he delivered where European coaches, who included Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov and former Netherlands star Johan Neeskens, stumbled.
“Players are the main [reason for success] and long-serving ones like [Hlompho] Kekana and Denis Onyango have been key for us.
“We’ve got players who will say: ‘Hey you’ why don’t you come to training, why you don’t do this?’”
The coach, who turns 56 in July, also answers the critics who claim his success is as a result of being backed by a billionaire, whose deep pockets ensures he gets whatever he wants.
“Nobody keeps Pep Guardiola in those top teams in Europe because he’s Pep. It’s all about winning,” Mosimane said.