Kaizer Chiefs a ‘big institution’, but Pitso Mosimane’s ‘right team’ might be an international side

Matshelane Mamabolo|Published

PITSO Mosimane holds the CAF Champions League trophy aloft following Al Ahly’s final win over Kaizer Chiefs, and now he has been linked to the Amakhosi job. Photo: BackpagePix

PITSO Mosimane’s nonchalance amid an almost national clamour for him to join Kaizer Chiefs is a sign of the man being content with his lot.

Jobless after his contract with Abha FC came to an end with him having failed to help them avoid relegation from the Saudi Pro League, Mosimane is not one bit desperate to secure his next gig.

While he speaks highly of Chiefs as “a big institution”, indications are that Mosimane would rather wait things out.

“We have calls even now, and sometimes people will say, ‘This guy is arrogant’, but the truth is the truth. You cannot tell me that there’s no team on the continent, after what we have done, we cannot coach. The calls are there.”

But why is he not answering then? Is it because those calls are not the right ones?

“I know that beggars cannot be choosers, right? But if I had to choose, to be honest with you, I would like to finish that chapter of the national team,” says the man who coached Bafana Bafana but was fired prior to the end of his contract.

“The challenge is you must get the right team. It is not that I want a national team, and then I just go wherever, hey. I want to go to the World Cup.

“I want to be able to compete to win the (Africa) Cup of Nations; be in the semi-finals in that space.

“And you know the countries I can do that with. It will always be the west Africans, the north Africans, because history says it is those guys all the time.”

Club-wise, Mosimane has fallen for the oil-rich world in the gulf.

“I am at a point in my career where I want to be in Saudi. I am happy that I am (have been) in the Saudi League,” he said.

“I mean, if you are not in one of the big five leagues in Europe, where do you want to be? The Saudi League is the next best thing, with all those top players and big coaches.

“But it does not mean I will be back in Saudi. I am happy. I am enjoying life and what I have done before (as a coach and his achievements) has helped me to be in this position where I roll.

“You can find me at Chiefs and say, ‘Oh, but you were playing against Ronaldo, this is a downgrade’. But is it?

“Some people were saying, ‘Why did he go to that team that’s going get relegated?’

“But I wanted to be in that league after I promoted Al Ahli Saudi (Jeddah), and had it taken away from me.”

He is back at home now, working hard to ensure the success of his one-year-old Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools (PMSS), which is growing at a rate that he says surprises even him.

“It’s unbelievable what’s happening with PMSS. We’ve even had to form clubs because the kids, after enjoying football at school during the week, said they also want to play at the weekend,” he said.

“This is my legacy. This is what I want to do for South African football, to give back to it.”

With no sponsors backing him yet for PMSS, Mosimane has to run it from his own pocket, and faced with such a reality, it only makes sense that the man they call ‘Jingles’ will return to the money-spinning leagues in the gulf next season – the clamour by Amakhosi supporters to have him take over at Naturena notwithstanding.

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