Sport

Pitso Mosimane gets the green light … with second division side

Herman Gibbs|Published

Former Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane. Picture: Mohamed Bissar, BackpagePix

Cape Town – In the wee hours of Sunday morning, the Al-Ahli Saudi Football Club, a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Jeddah, named Pitso Mosimane as the club's new coach.

The club made the announcement on their Twitter account with a short welcoming note: 'Pitso Mosimane is the new manager of our first football team'.

The 85-year-old club, based in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port city on the Red Sea, was shockingly relegated from the Saudi Professional League last season and is campaigning in the second division now.

Mosimane, the former Al Ahly manager, resigned from the Cairo-based club in June after two years. He was hugely successful there at Al Ahly and guided the team to three consecutive CAF Champions League finals.

He won the 2020 and 2021 editions of Africa's premier club competition.

However, last season Al Ahly was not ruling the roost in the Egyptian Premier League and former players and coaches wasted no time criticising him. Eventually, he found the situation unbearable and stepped down from the hot seat.

Given the club's resources former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Mosimane should have little trouble spearheading the club's return to the Saudi Pro League next season.

However, the season has already started, and the club have a meagre return of eight points after five games in the domestic Yelo League.

In the past week, speculation was rife that the 58-year-old Mosimane was the frontrunner to replace Morocco’s head coach Faouzi Benzarti.

@Herman_Gibbs

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Pitso Mosimane gets the green light … with second division side