Pressure mounts on Pitso Mosimane ahead of important week

by Bertin Basson

Sunday May 09, 2021. 16:00

Former Al Ahly player and board member Mohamed Fadl has predicted that the club will sack head coach Pitso Mosimane.

Despite leading the Red Devils to a record-extending ninth Caf Champions League crown and Egypt Cup glory within his first eight months at the club, Mosimane’s position has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.

Al Ahly finished second behind Simba in their Champions League group and have lost two of their last six Egyptian Premier League matches ahead of what could prove to be a defining week for the South African.

“Pitso Mosimane is a lucky coach and is good during big games only,” Mohamed Fadl said as quoted by KingFut.

“People remember Al Ahly’s performance during the René Weiler era and the achievements of Manuel José only. Mosimane doesn’t yet know the potential of coaching Al Ahly.

“Mosimane’s management of the games is poor. We saw Ghazl El-Mahalla and Al Masry completely dominating their matches against Al Ahly.

“Pitso Mosimane will not continue with Al Ahly and the club will search for a new coach. It’s not information I know, but rather an expectation.

“Mosimane is not a coach for a team of the size of Al Ahly. They deserve a better coach than him,” he added.

The Egyptian giants bounced back with victory over Ittihad of Alexandria on Thursday before back-to-back matches against Zamalek [in the league on Monday] and Mosimane’s former team Mamelodi Sundowns [in the Champions League quarter-finals on Saturday].

Mosimane has won 29 of his 40 matches as Al Ahly head coach, losing only four and also led the club to a third-place finish at the Fifa Club World Cup last year.