Bio
Pitso Mosimane is the current Manager of Abha FC in Saudi Arabia, joining the Saudi Pro League club in January, 2024 from his previous role as Manager of the UAE Pro League club, Al-Wahda, .
Prior to his tenure in the UAE, Mosimane guided Al-Ahli Saudi back to the to the Saudi Pro League in 2023, by winning the first division league with the Jeddah club.
Mosimane was also the Manager of Al Ahly SC in the Egyptian Premier League and served the Egyptian Giants from October 2020 to June 2022 having left Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club in September 2020.
Pitso had been with the South African Club for almost eight years and led the team to 5 Premier League titles and a CAF Champions League Victory. This is amongst other applauded accolades.
By acclamation, Mosimane is considered the best coach in Africa at present given his success since returning to domestic football in 2012.
Player and early Coaching career
Pitso’s professional playing career lasted thirteen years from 1982 to 1995. Between 1982 and 1983, he played professional soccer for Jomo Cosmos Football Club under Jomo Sono, whom he attributes his career to. His prowess as a midfielder saw him join Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club and Orlando Pirates Football Club and later making a move abroad. He had a successful seven-year career playing in Greece, Belgium and Qatar. He received a call up to the South African National Squad (Bafana Bafana) in 1993 and made four appearances for the national side during the 1993/1994 season.
His first-ever coaching spell was in 1995 as a 31-year-old while playing for Rita Berlaar in Belgium; as an assistant for the Club’s youth team. While on his return to South Africa, he initially was on the pitch as a player for Sundowns, then coach Ted Dumitru gave him a greater challenge by asking him to coach the Sundowns youth team. Pitso was then recruited to head up SuperSport’s Football Club youth programme and later became assistant coach to Bruce Grobbelaar in the SuperSport’s Senior Team. This led to a tenure with Dutch clubs, Feyernoord and Heerenveen under the tutelage of legendary European coaches Foppe de Haan and Albert Stuivenberg. It was here that Pitso even got a chance to coach the likes of future world-class player Robin van Persie.
Head Coach
In December 2001 halfway in the season, Mosimane was appointed as an Interim Head Coach for the Senior Team of SuperSport United Football Club. He went on to complete six seasons as Head coach at the Club until 2007, lifting the SAA Super 8 trophy in 2004 and the ABSA Cup in 2005 and competing in 6 cup finals in a row. Ending that season, Mosimane was honoured with the PSL Coach of the Year award.
While still coaching SuperSport United Football club he was appointed to serve as Bafana Bafana assistant coach to Ted Dimitri at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations and, later appointed as an Interim Coach for Bafana Bafana, until Carlos Alberto Parreira was appointed as head coach. He appeared as an assistant coach to Carlos Alberto Parreira for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In July 2010, he was appointed as Bafana Bafana Head Coach, a position which he occupied until June 2012.
Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club
In December 2012, Pitso Mosimane took over as Head Manager of Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club. As the manager of Sundowns, he achieved groundbreaking milestones. Adding to his success stories as an accomplished manager he also ended up winning the first PSL title for Mamelodi Sundowns in eight years during the 2013/14 season.
He has won a total of 11 trophies including CAF Champions League and CAF Super Cup. He was ranked as the tenth best manager in the world by International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) rankings. In January 2017, Mosimane was awarded manager of the year for 2016 at the Global-Confederation of African Football (CAF) award in Abuja, Nigeria.
Mosimane has collected five Premiership trophies as a manager since joining Mamelodi Sundowns in 2012. He had been the mainstay needed by the Club as it collected its 10th league trophy “La Decima” in their history.
Al Ahly Sports Club – Egypt
Pitso Mosimane joined Al Ahly Sports Club in October 2020 following his appointment as Head Manager. Together with his technical team, they oversaw Al Ahly to complete the Egyptian Premier League which the club won and attain a third place in the FIFA Club World Cup (2020-2021). They won the Egyptian Cup (2019-2020) and CAF Champions League (2019-2020). Mosimane went on to win the CAF Super Cup in Qatar (2020) and the CAF Champions League (2020-2021) which was quite an accomplishment following a seven-year drought that the team had experienced. Within the year that Mosimane has been with the Red Devils, he helped to ensure that they achieved their CAF Champions League ‘La Decima’ dream in 2021.
In December 2021, Al Ahly went on to win the CAF Super Cup. At the start of 2022, Mosimane and Al Ahly attained third place in the FIFA Club World Cup (2021-2022) for the second time, consecutively.
Before his departure, Coach Pitso Mosimane and his technical team led the Egyptian Giants to a third consecutive CAF Champions League final.
Al Ahli Saudi Football Club
Pitso Mosimane and his South African technical team, Kabelo Rangoaga, Musi Matlaba, and Kyle Solomon joined Al Ahli Saudi Football Club in October 2022. Having left Al Ahly SC, Coach Pitso’s managers and agents, MT Sports Marketing and Management, received numerous offers from clubs and national teams around the world for the services of Coach Pitso and his dream team. However, the mandate that MT Sports received from the coaches was to only take on an interesting and challenging project that will enable them to have impact in turning a team into champions.
Al Ahli Saudi Football Club was founded in 1937 and is currently 85 years old, making it the second oldest club in Saudi Arabia. Al Ahli Saudi F.C is one of the four founding members of the Saudi Pro League and had never been relegated until 2022. It is considered one of the kingdom’s “big four” clubs alongside Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nasser. The club has a history of winning titles however, due to recent challenges, this had resulted in them playing in the First Divison League. With a large fan base in Saudi and a cabinet filled with 28 trophies, the club was more than ready to make its way back into the Pro League, and this was Coach Pitso Mosimane’s challenge.
With Coach Pitso Mosimane’s experience and his track record of being the football coach turn-around strategist, the CAF Pro License coaching graduate and one of the most successful coaches in Africa, was able to deliver on the mandate and achieved promotion with still 5 fixtures remaining. The cherry on top came when Al Ahli Saudi were crowned First Division League Champions.
Al Wahda Football Club
Coach Pitso Mosimane and his Technical Team consisting of Maahier Davids, Kabelo Rangoaga, Musi Matlaba, Kyle Solomon, and Goal Keeper Coach, Hamad Alyami joined Al Wahda in June 2023. Known for their exceptional leadership, tactical prowess, and ability to inspire players, Coach Pitso and his Technical Team were charged with bringing success to the Abu Dhabi club.
After just 4 months in charge, Al Wahda F.C. and Coach Pitso Mosimane agreed to part ways, with the club sitting in 5th position on the league standings and whilst still contenders for the ADIB Cup.
Abha Football Club
Coach Pitso Mosimane and his Technical Team were appointed by Saudi Pro League team, Abha FC, in January 2024. Coach Pitso and his technical team, consisting of Maahier Davids, Kabelo Rangoaga, Musi Matlaba, Kyle Solomon, and Goal Keeper Coach, Hamad Alyami face the stern challenge of trying to help the team avoid relegation (starting from 17th place on the table) from the star-studded Roshn League.