Mosimane smiling all the way to the bank

Pitso Mosimane’s fairy tale nine-month run with Egyptian football giants Al Ahly has been met with rewards, with the South African coach banking over R14 million in bonuses alone.

As head coach of the most successful team on the African continent, there is high pressure that comes with delivering the coveted CAF Champions League title — but there are also handsome rewards for it.

For one, by beating South African giants Kaizer Chiefs in the final in Casablanca, Morocco, on Saturday evening, Mosimane walked away with a staggering US$480 000 (R7.1m) which is the standard bonus given to Ahly coaches for winning the continental gong.

Given that he has now won the competitions in two consecutive occasions, essentially the 56-year-old has pocketed about R14m in just nine months!

This is in addition to the reported US$120 000 ( about R1,8m) a month salary that the former Mamelodi Sundowns mentor is believed to be earning at the Red Eagles.

Al Ahly have also shown in the past that they are not afraid to throw money at the players and staff, if need be.

Earlier on in the campaign, pressure was mounting on the Egyptian giants after they suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Simba, Al Ahly players and staff were handsomely rewarded after they beat AS Vita Club.

In addition, the club also gave the players a double bonus for their 1-0 semi-final win over Esperance in June, showing that the club is well capable of matching their lofty ambitions with financial rewards to the players and staff.

Mosimane will now switch his attention to the Egyptian Premier League where his side trail arch-rivals Zamalek by 10 points, although they do have four games in hand.

Meanwhile, retired Bafana Bafana midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane has claimed Mosimane’s achievements as a coach have not happened by accident.

After helping Al Ahly to see off Kaizer Chiefs and lift the 10th CAF Champions League title, Letsholonyane believes the South African deserves the achievements because he has worked hard for them.

“Mosimane being where he is now is not by accident, he is there because of all the efforts he put in as a player and then as a coach,” said the former Kaizer Chiefs star, as quoted by KingFut.

“Pitso is one of the best coaches that I worked with, he’s won the Champions League, proving that he has more abilities than we have imagined. He is a role model for South Africa, he’s showing us that we have more abilities and potential than we think.”

“If we put in effort and focus, we can go far as a country, as he’s gone far as a coach,” he added.

Although many have credited Mosimane with helping Al Ahly become champions once more, the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach picked the club’s president, Mahmoud El-Khatib, as the one who deserves more credit.

“For many years, it has been a norm that whenever a club from this part of the world searches for a new coach, they go to Europe and find a new coach,” said Mosimane.

“It was a norm. If not Europe, they try someone from around the world, but mainly Europe. But Captain El Khatib went against the wind. He took a very bold decision and I’m sure a lot of people didn’t understand him then.

“It was a very bold decision and I’m sure very difficult as well, because, you brought this coach. Yes, I was known in Egypt but no one from Sub Saharan Africa had ever coached the club in over 100 years.

“El Khatib is now part of history, because of him, many clubs will now be open to hiring coaches that look like me — not just those who come from Europe.” — Laduma