Five Minutes with Top African Football Coach

He might be known as the “Pep Guardiola” of African football, but Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane’s mantra is one coined by the iconic Nelson Mandela. Mosimane won a record five league titles in seven years with South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, was part of the Bafana Bafana coaching staff at the inaugural FIFA World Cup hosted on the continent and became Al Ahly’s first ever Black coach in 2020. He will now have an opportunity to prove his mettle to the world after leading the Egyptian outfit to the promised land of club football as Al Ahly is set to participate at FIFA’s Club World Cup, which begins in Qatar on February 4, when it plays Al Duhail SC. If Al Ahly win that match, the Egyptian club will face Bayern Munich for a place in final. Bayern will be the favorite to win the semifinal, but expectations are always high at a club like Al Ahly, which says it has 60 million fans in the Arab world and has won 140 trophies. Last season, Mosimane did what nobody in world football has achieved to date. He was a part of two teams that secured trebles in their respective countries. First, he won three trophies in South Africa, including the league, in what is widely regarded as the strongest African domestic competition. And then he followed this up with Al Ahly, leading it to the continental crown as it beat arch-rival Zamalek 2-1 in the CAF Champions League final.

SOURCE: CNN