Al Ahly and Pitso: The Perfect Marriage
Just like we saw Barcelona and Pep Guardiola, Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane, Manchester United and Alex Ferguson, hiring a coach that fits perfectly- just like a round peg in a round hole. It is very important for every club to be successful and remain at the gear of power tussle as we see with Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and the likes have done recently in Europe.
Getting the change of baton wrong can mean a drastic fall in all ramifications. Arsenal and Juventus would come to mind in Europe. However, in Africa where there are not too many coaches who can perform at the top level consistently, changing coaches could be an extreme sport of its own.
Luckily for arguably the best football club in Africa - Al Ahly of Egypt, changing coaches did not affect them so much domestically as it did on the continent where they couldn’t flex their muscle for a number of years.
Jose’s 5 years
Manuel Jose would be the longest-serving coach the Red Devils have had in recent times. The Portuguese gaffer spent 5 years at the club (2004 - 2009) and arguably had the most successful reign in the club’s history.
Jose won 17 trophies in 5 years - 5 Egyptian Premier League, 2 Egyptian Cups, 4 Egyptian Super Cups, 3 CAF Champions League, 3 CAF Super Cups. He also led them to a bronze medal finish at the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. Before he arrived in 2004, the club had only won 3 continental trophies, including the one he won during his short stint between 2001 and 2002.
His departure in 2009 created a big vacuum in the club as they could not find a perfect replacement to replicate such a level of success for the club.
The search
Al Ahly’s search for the perfect coach stretched for a long time as they kept changing coaches- firing and rehiring coaches in their pursuit of continental glory as they enjoyed under Manuel Jose.
Between 2009 and 2019, Al- Ahly hired 19 coaches, with 6 of them being caretaker coaches. The club only managed to win 4 continental titles in that period (2 CAF Champions League, 1 Super Cup and 1 CAF Confederation Cup); on the domestic scene, they either won the league or the Super Cup but never did they win a double or treble like they did under Jose.
Rene Weiler, the Swiss coach would be the last on the list as Al Ahly searched for their perfect coach. He left after winning the league and the Egyptian Super Cup but his departure opened the door for the perfect marriage.
Pitso - the perfect groom
Pitso Mosimane is fast becoming the best indigenous coach in Africa. His days in the South African Premier League, particularly his 8-year stay at Mamelodi Sundowns proved to be magical, as he won 11 trophies, including the 2016 CAF Champions League and the 2017 CAF Super Cup for the club.
In 2020, when he was coming in as the new Al Ahly head coach, he bowed out of South Africa with a treble (the league title, Telkom Knockout and the Nedbank Cup)- his last trophies for Sundowns. The Al Ahly job was not easy as this was the first time the Egyptians were hiring a coach from another part of Africa.
Pitso did not take time to prove his genius in Egypt as he led the Red Devils to their first treble since 2006-07. Al Ahly’s other two treble-winning seasons came under Manuel Jose (2005-06, 2006-07). Pitso then became the first coach to win two trebles with different teams within months.
The South African also equalled Manuel Jose’s 2006 FIFA Club World Cup bronze medal finish at the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup and has recently added the 2021 CAF Super Cup to the list.
Under his tutelage, Al Ahly are gunning for another CAF Champions League and Egyptian League triumph, not forgetting that the Egyptian Cup is much winnable as well. Hence, another treble in sight.
Perhaps, it is safe to say Al Ahly have found their new Manuel Jose and the marriage just seems perfect.
