Downs coach Mokwena upbeat on meeting Al Ahly
● So, Pitso Mosimane will face Mamelodi Sundowns, his former club that he led to the 5-0 thrashing of his current side, the Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
Mosimane steered Sundowns in four Caf Champions League quarterfinals meetings against Ahly, but it was the first leg home tie in the 2018/19 season that caught the eye of the Ahly management. They eventually prised him away from the Brazilians in October last year.
The Soweto-born coach has already won Ahly their ninth Champions League title afclub
‘ I have a lot of respect for Pitso because of the role he’s played in my career’
ter beating Cairo rivals Zamalek 2-1 in
November last year.
Sundowns lost 1-0 to Ahly in the return leg after their 5-0 win, but they won on aggregate and went on to be knocked out by Wydad Casablanca of Morocco in the semifinal of the competition that Mosimane won with the Brazilians in 2016.
Despite Sundowns losing 2-0 to Ahly in Cairo and drawing 1-1 at home in last year’s edition, Mosimane still replaced Switzerland’s Rene Weiler as Ahly’s head coach.
Ahly’s way to this year’s last eight hasn’t been smooth, with a 1-0 defeat to Tanzanian Simba SC and two 2-2 draws against Vita Club of DR Congo and Al-Merrikh of Sudan leading Mosimane’s team to finish second to Simba in Group A.
However, with his vast knowledge of the team he coached for eight years and led to an unprecedented domestic treble last season, Mosimane will feel a good result in the first leg in Cairo on May 14 will be key in eliminating Sundowns.
Reacting to Friday’s draw in Cairo that also pitted Kaizer Chiefs against Simba, Rulani Mokwena, who succeeded Mosimane alongside his long-time former assistant Manqoba Mngqithi at Sundowns, said the pressure will be on Ahly as defending champions.
“We consider it a very good draw against a very good side with a very good coach and someone we have a lot of respect for. I personally have a lot of respect for coach Pitso because of the role that he’s played in my coaching career. We’re looking forward to the challenge,” said Mokwena.
Chiefs, the surprise first time last-eight entrants, will be happy they won’t have a long trip to the north where they could have faced ES Tunis of Tunisia. But Gavin Hunt’s men cannot underestimate Simba, who were also quarterfinalists in 2018-19.
Simba topped Group A after winning four group matches, including two against Vita Club, who they thumped 4-1 in Dar es Salaam and 1-0 in Kinshasa.
Orlando Pirates, who host Sundowns in a DStv Premiership tie in Orlando today, got the worst of draws in the last-eight of the Caf Confederation Cup. The Buccaneers will face the two-time winners of this cup, Raja Casablanca. The Moroccan club are favourites to lift the title for the second time in four years after winning six Group D matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding none.