Pitso Mosimane has won back-to-back CAF Champions League titles with Al Ahly. And the coach is entering the last 12 months of his contract with the Egyptian club. But he has yet to sign an extension.
However, Al Ahly president Mahmoud El Khatib has said Mosimane was just looking for assurances about his position. And he also revealed that he was in line for a well-deserved salary hike.
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On Friday, El Khatib, popularly known as “Captain Bibo”, was re-elected as the club’s president. This should pave the way for Mosimane to finalise a new contract.
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In an exclusive interview with City Press via Zoom from Cairo on Friday, Mosimane explained why he felt in a “good space”.
“My business manager, my wife Moira [Tlhagale] is coming here. And one of the things on the table will be to deal with the contract issue. Because we are finishing [the initial contract] this year.
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“So, Al Ahly should say we like this coach or not. You can’t wait until the end [of the season]. Because you know the kind of a coach you have. But it is also good for us because we have done a good job.
“The Gulf knows us. If nothing comes up, we’ll never stay without a job. But it would be nice to stay at the biggest club in the Middle East. You can move to other clubs and sometimes you can even get more money.
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“So, it’s the brand and the history of the club that you actually coach. It’s also the thrill of winning at the big clubs.”
The popular coach added that the freedom offered to him as coach was very different to the experiences back in South Africa as coach.
“When you are the head coach of Al Ahly, Captain Bibo knights you, he says: ‘You are the boss.’ And this means you are not the boss of the team sheet or the training session – you are the boss of the club.
“Back home, you know, sometimes you are not even the boss of the team sheet because you get told who to substitute, you know what I am trying to say?
“With Captain Bibo, he also tells me that ‘nobody speaks after you have spoken – the whole club’. So, it is that level [of responsibility] that you are given, but with humility.”
Al Ahly, who are five points ahead of their rivals Zamalek after six games, will resume the league campaign on 21 December.