Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane says he can’t let his allegiance to South Africa stand in his way of winning a record tenth CAF Champions League crown for the Egyptian giants.
Ahly and Mosimane are aiming to retain their title against a Kaizer Chiefs side that surprisingly made the 2020/21 season final of Africa’s elite club competition against all odds.
But the two-time winner of the premier competition has warned the Soweto giants that they won’t be offered any favours in the pursuit of their first title triumph.
“There’s a little bit of a confliction, I’m South African and I’m playing against my fellow team – my home team, the team I supported growing up – but at this point in time it’s about me, my family and my team, they come first,” ‘Jingles’ said in an interview.
“It was the same when I met Mamelodi Sundowns, and the same when I was a coach for Mamelodi Sundowns and playing against SuperSport United, who gave me the break to become a coach.
“When it comes to that, do I want to give a medal to Baxter or keep it? I think you know the answer to that. But it would also be nice for a South African team to have a star to be honest, if I look from the other side.
“It will be a boost for our country to have three big teams with a star. Why not? But we are not in the welfare of charitable organizations of handing out stars here, you must earn it.”
After Gavin Hunt was sacked owing to poor domestic form, interim coaches Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard managed to steer Amakhosi past Wydad AC in the semi-finals, while new head coach Stuart Baxter awaited his work permit.
Mosimane further concedes that it’s a remarkable story that he’s never seen before in his illustrious coaching career.
“Al Ahly wants their own La Decima, they call Aleushria and Kaizer Chiefs want to win their first star, I would congratulate them for the journey that they’ve had – what a season they’ve had,” he said.
“A team that never signed anyone, in fact, a team that I won the league against in the season before last [in 2019/20, with Sundowns] in the last 18 minutes. It’s unbelievable.
“The very same team was lying 12th on the log this year, losing to Black Leopards – I saw that match and I think Chippa also, if I’m not mistaken. And then they come and go to the [Champions League] final and come back with integrity to finish in the top-eight in the end, so what a story!
“It’s an amazing story, to be honest, I’d like to know what happened in that story. Because it’s very awkward, I’ve never seen anything like this.
“One day you’re so good and in six months’ time you’re different, and you have the same players. Probably the changing of the technical team, I’m not sure, and maybe the issue of not signing players affected them in the league.”
The Red Devils and Amakhosi will meet in the final showpiece at the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca, Morocco on 17 July.