Decorated South African football coach Pitso Mosimane has finally found a new club after his departure from Egypt-based African giants Al Ahly.

Mosimane was confirmed by Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ahli Jeddah as their new head coach on Sunday, 25 September.

“Welcome, coach. Pitso Mosimane is the new manager of our first football team,” the club said in a social media statement.

“Coach Pitso and his technical team of Kabelo Rangoaga (fitness trainer), Musi Matlaba and Kyle Solomon (performance analysts) are ready for the challenge,” Mosimane’s agency MT Sports confirmed in its statement. “The decorated South African technical team will be heading to Saudi Arabia from September 2022 to join Al-Ahli in Jeddah.”

The appointment ends Mosimane’s three-month sabbatical from coaching. The Kagiso-born supercoach took a break to mull over his options after ending a relatively successful tenure in Egypt.

During his 21-month stay with one of the powerhouses of world football, Mosimane reached three CAF Champions League finals in a row, winning two. He also added the CAF Super Cup, the Egypt Cup, as well as a bronze medal in the Fifa Club World Cup to this haul.

Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane with match officials during the CAF Champions League 2021/22 final between Al Ahly and Wydad Athletic Club held at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, on 30 May 2022. (Photo: Weam Mostafa / BackpagePix)

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Task of revival

The 58-year-old coach has now been tasked with bringing similar success to Jeddah giants Al-Ahli. One of the founding members of the Saudi Pro League, the team had never been relegated – until the 2021/22 season. Al-Ahli were shockingly demoted from the league after finishing second from the bottom, with just 32 points from 30 games.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the three-time Saudi champions. Between 2013 and 2020, the Jeddah juggernauts consistently managed top four finishes. They won their most recent league title in 2016, before finishing as the runner-up in the two subsequent seasons.

The Royal, as the club is affectionately called by their faithful, have started off their tenure in this unfamiliar territory indifferently. To date, the 2012 Asian Champions League runners-up have played five matches in Division One. Of those, they have won two, drawn two and lost one. The team’s haul of eight points sees them sitting seventh – four points behind early pacesetters Al-Akhdoud.

The team’s hierarchy will be hopeful that Mosimane will hastily turn around their fortunes as they desperately fight to regain their place in the upper echelon of Saudi Arabian, and indeed, Asian football.

“With coach Pitso Mosimane’s experience and his track record of being the football coach turnaround strategist, the CAF Pro Licence coaching graduate (who is one of the most successful coaches in Africa), is more than suitable for this role,” said MT Sports.

“The opportunity to lead such a prestigious club in Saudi Arabia presents itself as the perfect project to yield a win-win situation for both parties.”

Biding his time

Before this move, Mosimane had been linked to another Saudi club, Al Nassr, as well as to some DStv Premiership sides. None of those moves ever materialised, however.

Mosimane further bolstered his already exceptional CV when he completed his CAF Pro Licence studies in June 2022, having started the course in 2018. 

“This is to confirm that his contribution, his coaching ability is recognised, not only on the continent but throughout the world,” South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan said of Mosimane’s achievement in August.

The Saudi move is Mosimane’s second international deployment at club level, following his stay in Egypt. It’s his first outside the African continent. Previously Mosimane had been in charge of clubs such as Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United.

He was head coach of Bafana Bafana, South Africa’s senior men’s football side, between 2010 and 2012. DM