Michaelson Ntokozo Gumede

By Ntokozo Gumede

Journalist


Pitso in line to win sixth trophy with Al Ahly

'I don’t think there’s any coach that’s not nervous, otherwise it means you know you’re going to win,' said the Al Ahly head coach.


Pitso Mosimane will on Tuesday evening stand a chance to win his sixth title with Al-Ahly, after almost a year in the hottest seat in African club football.

ALSO READ: Mokwena to Broos – Why is Lakay not playing for Bafana?

Upon arriving at the Red Devils, Mosimane bagged a treble – the Caf Champions League, the Egyptian Premier League and the Egypt Cup, although the league had already been secured ahead of his arrival.

The Egyptian Super Cup is contested by the league champions of the previous season and the holders of the Egyptian Cup. In this case, Al-Ahly are holders of both titles and El-Gaish will play in the final as the runners-up of last season’s Egypt Cup where they lost to Mosimane’s side on penalties.  

The match is set to take place at that Cairo International Stadium this evening and inasmuch as “Jingles” has lifted plenty of trophies in this arena, he admits he still feels the chills whenever he has to lead his team out in a cup final.  

“I get nervous before every game, even in a friendly game, it’s just anxiety to know how it’s going to come up, who is going to score? Which kind of goal can we score? Can we score the goals that we worked on? So yes, I do get nervous before games,” Mosimane was quoted as saying by Kingfut.com.

“I don’t think there’s any coach that’s not nervous, otherwise it means you know you’re going to win. But all the games that I’m involved in, be it in South Africa or Egypt, you’re never sure,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mosimane thought he would have Percy Tau back and fit for this game but it appears as though the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Brighton attacker will wait a little longer before making his Al-Ahly debut.

The club’s head of medical, Abo-Ablaa says Tau’s injury is not one to be overly concerned about as he picked up slight hamstring tear in the international break with Bafana Bafana.

“The player started his solo training alongside his physical therapy. He’s recovering day after day and will be joining the team’s training in a week or so,” Abo-Ablaa was quoted as saying by Kingfut.com.

This video is no longer available.

Read more on these topics

Al Ahly F.C. Pitso Mosimane

Access premium news and stories

Access to the top content, vouchers and other member only benefits