Pitso Mosimane: A Legendary Soccer Coach and Dedicated Family Man

He walks on the soccer field after his team draws in a CAF Champions League match in 2019, and the opposition team's supporters chant his name.

"Pitso, Pitso, Pitso," the Wydad Casablanca crowd sung in unison to show appreciation to a man who is arguably one of the best soccer coaches in Africa.

Pitso Mosimane has more than proved his worth as a coach. Of the 20 trophies the Mamelodi Sundowns have won, 11 were won under the guidance of Mosimane.

In September last year, Mosimane left the Brazilians to join Egyptian giants, Al Ahly. Thus far, his stint at the African team has been successful and the supporters love Mosimane.

Jomo Somo knew Pitso Mosimane would be a great coach

Former Bafana Bafana manager Jomo Sono has revealed he knew Mosimane would be a great coach since his days as a player.

Mosimane kicked off his football career at Jomo Cosmos in 1982 before playing for the Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.

Jomo Sono - aka 'Bra J' - told OnTime Sports TV Mosimane was one of the best players he knew, adding he was a "top-class striker."

From the Buccaneers, Mosimane moved to Ionikos Nikeas in Greece, Belgium’s FC Rita Berlaar and Qatar side Al-Sadd. He retired in 1996 at the age of 32.

Mosimane, who was born in Richards Bay on 26 July, 1964, started his managerial career as an assistant coach to the under-11 players during his tenure with the Belgian club KFC Rita Berlaar.

After moving back to Mzansi, Mosimane joined Supersport United as the assistant coach to Bruce Grobbelaar. In 2001, he took over the reigns as the head coach where Mosimane won multiple major trophies with the team during his tenure.

The 56-year-old joined the Mamelodi Sundowns in 2012 where he obtained an impressive record. In 2016, the Brazilians won the CAF Champions League after defeating Egypt's Zamalek 3–1. The victory made the Sundowns only the second South African team to ever hold the trophy, after the Orlando Pirated in 1995.

His success led to Mosimane being ranked the 10th best coach in the world in 2016, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

Mosimane has won several awards for his managerial success - including the 2016 Glo-CAf Coach of the Year award.

He has been regarded as the most successful coach in Mzansi football history after winning five ABSA Premiership titles with Mamelodi Sundowns, BBC Sport reported.

Pitso Mosimane is smiling all the way to the bank

With Mosimane's impressive track record it is no wonder he was highly in demand in Africa and Al Ahly dug deep into their pockets to persuade the 56-year-old to dump the Sundowns.

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Football

According to several reports, it is believed Mosimane's contract at Al Ahly is worth more than R50 million.

Mosimane's salary at the Sundowns was between R800 000 and R1 million per month. KickOff.com reported after his move to Egypt he is now earning closer to R4.5 million monthly, excluding bonuses.

Mosimane is worth every penny

His impeccable form as a coach has not slipped since moving to Egypt. The former Bafana Bafana manager scooped the award for most successful coach in Egypt in December last year following an impressive start to his two-year contract at the club.

Mosimane, who is also known as 'Jingles', led the team to the Egyptian Premier League title only months after his move from the Sundowns. He also helped Al Ahly win the Egypt Cup for the 37th time.

Recently, he managed to win yet another award while coaching Al Ahly. Mosimane was honoured with the Best Coach Award from the Egyptian Sports Critics Association.

Suffering his first loss in Egypt

This week, Mosimane suffered his first defeat on Egyptian soil. Al Ahly lost following strike in the dying seconds that handed Smouha a 2-1 Egyptian Premier League victory at Cairo International Stadium.

The defeat was Mosimane's third loss in 35 matches and the first in Egypt and in the league, The Sowetan reported.

Mzansi wants Mosimane back

Many have called on Jingles to take the Bafana Bafana coaching job after Molefi Ntseki was axed following the 2-0 defeat away to Sudan.

Pitso Mosimane has coached Bafana Bafana before but was relieved of his role after Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Mosimane has not yet responded to request to take over as the national team's head coach once again.

Mosimane is not a fan of the Kaizer Chiefs

The 56-year-old is one of the most outspoken coaches in the game. While managing the Mamelodi Sundowns, Mosimane did not hide his feelings about their rivals, the Kaizer Chiefs.

On several occasions Mosimane threw shade on Amakhosi side, even accusing them of benefiting from poor refereeing.

Aside from the claims of bias, Mosimane has questioned the tactics of the Amakhosi and often mentions the amount of rest their players have enjoyed this season.

Last year, Mosimane surprised many when he revealed he supported the Chiefs as a child.

Wife, biggest supporter and manager

One thing is for sure, even if Mosimane does agree to join the Bafana Bafana team, it is a decision he will have to discuss with his manager - who is also his wife.

Jingles and his beautiful missus, Moira Mosimane, have been serving up major relationship goals in the football community.

The duo have been together for a really long time, and even though we don't exactly how long, it is at least a couple decades if taking their children's age into account.

On a rare and special occasion, Mosimane will share a glimpse into his family life on social media but they prefer to stay out of the spotlight.

Apart from being her husband's manager, Moira is a qualified Quantity Surveyor as well as a registered Construction Project manager.

She graduated from the University of Cape Town (UCT) with a B.Sc Honours Degree in Quantity Surveying.

According to Buzz South Africa, Moira also holds a National Diploma in Building Surveying, which she obtained from Peninsula Technikon.

The couple are blessed with three beautiful children - Lelentle, Kopano and Reatlegile.

Although Mosimane normally keeps his family life private, he did spill the tea on one of his son's favourite footballers.

Taking to Instagram, Mosimane shared a photo of his son with Lionel Messi. The former Sundowns coach captioned the image:

SAFA continues talks with Mosimane over Bafana Bafana coaching gig

It is not clear what the future holds for Mosimane but one thing is for sure, it is bright! According to reports, former Al Ahly and Egypt national team goalkeeper Ahmed Shobeir said the South Africa FA (SAFA) are still attempting to appoint Pitso Mosimane as the national team's head coach.

Only time will tell if Jingles actually takes the job but many South Africans are keeping their fingers crossed.

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