Pitso Mosimane's future has again surfaced as a topic of significant discussion following the shock news that the 58-year-old is set to be released from his contract as Al Wahda coach, just four months after taking the reins at the club. If the reports emerging out of Egypt turn out to be true, the celebrated coach will have no shortage of options with his availability set to pique the interest of clubs both in South Africa and abroad, where he has been making a name for himself since his departure from Mamelodi Sundowns in 2020. With the ex-Bafana Bafana mentor rumoured to be on his way out of Al Wahda, Soccer Laduma takes a look at 5 of his possible destinations.
What Is The Situation?
Pitso Mosimane has had what is understood to be a stable start to life in the United Arab Emirates. At the time of writing, his Al Wahda side were in sixth place on the log standings, having picked up three wins and suffered three losses in their opening six games. Given that Mosimane had been adjusting to life in a new league, without the luxury of bringing in his own players, his start to life at the club, although disappointing due to his high standards, has been one marked by progress.
There had been pressure mounting on the Kagiso-born coach, having suffered three consecutive defeats. However, Mosimane's charges managed to turn things around with a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad Kalba. The rumours of the possible termination of his contract therefore came as a shock. Al Wahda's official account initially posted a tweet confirming Mosimane was set to depart the club, though that tweet was quickly deleted.
Unfortunately for the club, various publications had already picked up on it and ran with the news. As things stand, there has been no official confirmation from Al Wahda on the coach's future, though Siya sources have indicated that the former Al Ahly mentor's exit from the club is now imminent. Mosimane joined Al Wahda in June this year along with his technical team members Kabelo Rangoaga, Kyle Solomons, Mahier Davids, Musi Matlaba as well as goalkeeper coach Hamad Alyami.
At the time of the announcement, there was no confirmation of the coach's contract length, although Siya sources have indicated that he put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the club, similar to his previous contracts.
Kaizer Chiefs
It is perhaps the one move fans are most desperate to see happen. Kaizer Chiefs, who have been without silverware since the 2014/15 season, are in dire need of a coach with Mosimane's expertise and big personality worthy of being at the helm of Amakhosi. The club has, without much success, chopped and changed coaches with no less than eight different men occupying the hotseat within five years.
Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt, Stuart Baxter, Arthur Zwane and Molefi Ntseki have all tried to restore the club's glory days. However, silverware has been evading the Glamour Boys, who are closing in on a decade of no trophy with the prospect of lifting silverware this season bleak having been knocked out of the MTN8 and Carling Knockout, while they are nowhere near competing for the DStv Premiership. This then means that the Nedbank Cup is their only realistic chance of a trophy this season. Back in June, Mosimane touched on the possibility of a potential move to Naturena, although he stated that a return to the PSL was not at the top of his list, though we are talking about Kaizer Chiefs here.
Mosimane's agency has hinted that the coach would be interested in a 'project'. "It's not about Kaizer Chiefs, we will coach anywhere where there's a project that we think is good and is right," Mosimane told the media at his Soccer Schools launch earlier this year.
"But we're not in a position to be sending application forms. No, we don't sign application forms, no, no. If somebody really wants you, he will come to you, he will talk to you. Am I right? I'll take a call from anybody, I'm a professional, I'm a football coach. I don't discriminate, I don't judge. I'm a professional," he said.
"Jingles" is a serial winner, having proven this at every club he has coached at and Chiefs at this moment would be the ideal fit for one of Africa's most successful coaches.
Zamalek
Prior to Mosimane terminating his contract with Al Ahli Jeddah in May this year, he revealed via an interview with BeIN Sports that he had been targeted by Zamalek, although the timing of their approach was not ideal. Now that the coach is said to be on his way out of Al Wahda, could the interest in his services from the country where he was in charge of Al Ahly be a consideration again? Zamalek are the direct rivals of Al Ahly, where Mosimane enjoyed considerable success, although at the time the coach's desire to remain in Asia was stronger.
"I received an offer from Egyptian (club) Zamalek, but this time it is not appropriate to accept the offer. If the circumstances were different, I would have wanted to continue with Al Ahly of Egypt , but the conditions of the Egyptian League necessitated not working there," he said at the time.
The Siya crew reported that Zamalek could revisit their interest in the coach. At present, they do have Colombian Juan Carlos Osorio as the team's head coach. However, he has not had the best of starts to life at the club and has managed just two wins and two draws, while suffering one defeat in his opening five matches in charge of the side. Zamalek do have a new president in Hussein Labib, and if his tendencies are anything like his predecessor Mortada Mansour, the coach will have pressure to turn around his fortunes… and fast!
Morocco
Mosimane, through his various battles whilst in charge of Mamelodi Sundowns and later Al Ahly, has established himself as a formidable competitor in Morocco. He has also been waxing lyrical about the progression of Moroccan football, where he is well acquainted with both its top clubs in Wydad Casablanca and Raja Casablanca.
"Coming back to Africa isn't easy. Sometimes you strive to win trophies and conquer the Champions League with another team. I've always aspired to achieve success in North Africa, particularly in Morocco," he told Power FM in an interview in June.
Raja do currently have former Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer at the helm. Though still undefeated in league action, the German has picked up just three wins from his first seven games, with four of his side's clashes ending in draws. Wydad, meanwhile, have Adil Ramzi as their head coach. The 46-year-old UEFA Pro License holder spent his years honing his skill in the Netherlands before taking charge of Wydad in June this year. He has enjoyed a positive start to life at the helm of the club and, at the time of writing, had guided the club to a semi-final berth in the lucrative African Football League.
Saudi Arabia
In just nine months, the Kagisoborn coach proved what he could do in Saudi Arabia. Not only did he manage to achieve his mandate of ensuring Al Ahli gain promotion to the Saudi Arabian Pro League, but he managed to do it in style by winning the Saudi First Division with one match to spare. Al Ahli, however, reneged on their agreement that Mosimane's contract would be extended by virtue of him winning the league, which saw the coach terminate his contract with the club.
An ugly FIFA dispute has ensued, with the outspoken mentor confirming that he had not received a salary for five months.
"The first month, I got paid, but after the first month I had to wait for two months to get my money. (Sometimes) three months ... it has been like that," he said in an interview with Saudi Arabia TV channel Al Arabiya. (Since) I came here, I've never received my salary every month. No, never, since I've been at Al Ahli. We are going into the fifth month now (without getting paid). Me and my technical team. Even the players. Everybody. The last time we got there was in January," he said in June.
Mosimane has already proven what he can do in Saudi Arabia with limited resources and under difficult circumstances, and the coach will be hoping to get an opportunity to prove his worth at one of the oil-rich clubs if given the opportunity to do so.
Europe
Perhaps the faintest of possibilities for Mosimane is a move to Europe. The coach has over the last few years expressed his disappointment in the limited opportunities afforded to African coaches by European clubs. His latest utterances came in an interview with Abu Dhabi TV, where he revealed that he has similar qualities, and in some instances, more trophies than his European counterparts. However, opportunities remain limited for him and other coaches from the African continent.
"Do you think Bayern Munich will come to me? Let's talk reality – they won't! Because they've got Thomas Tuchel who I know and he spoke very well to me, but it's not me," he said.
"Let's not even talk about Bayern, let's talk about RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg... do you think they've got a coach who has got trophies like me? No one in history.
"Clubs in Europe take African players, there is no team in Europe that doesn't have African players. From George Weah, Abedi Pele, who have all won the (UEFA) Champions League, where is the African coaches? They only have African players.
"You say let the African coach have the quality - I'm here! Europe doesn't want me. They don't have a coach who has my CV."
"Football is not about where you come from, football is not whether you are African, but we need to look at it the way it is. You can run around it, we can escape, but Europe doesn't hire African coaches. My job is to build the trust and the legacy for Europe to say,
'There's something in Africa, let's give them a chance'."
Bafana Bafana
Mosimane was at the helm of the national team for two years between 2010 and 2012 but parted ways with Bafana Bafana after failing to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
The coach then dusted himself off in spectacular style with Mamelodi Sundowns, where he enjoyed a glorious eight-year spell. Stints at Al Ahly and Al Ahli Jeddah and more recently Al Wahda have followed, but Mosimane's time as Bafana coach, which was without a trophy, remains a thorn in his flesh.
"Well, there's nothing wrong to do the national team again, huh?," he said via his official TikTok account in March this year.
"It's something on my plate and unfinished business because that's the only place where I never won a trophy, so why not? Maybe it's a thorn in the flesh for me. Maybe a Cup of Nations, you never know. Anything can happen, we dream big. An African team winning the World Cup, it's possible, hey.
"There's always possibilities, you can never say never. It's open, I won't lie; I would love to. Especially now with 11 (African) teams in the next World Cup. I mean, everybody has a chance there."
A move at present would have to be put on the backburner however, after SAFA President Dr. Danny Jordaan revealed they are pleased with the work of coach Hugo Broos, who managed to qualify Bafana for next year's Africa Cup of Nations amid questions over whether Mosimane would be considered for the job again.
"Pitso Mosimane is a good coach, but we now have a coach who has qualified for the African Nations Cup and we are not ready to change the coach at the moment," Dr. Jordaan told Karim Ramzy via Channel One.
