THOUGH Pitso Mosimane believes Mamelodi Sundowns remain the team to beat in the coming Premiership season, the former Brazilians coach expects Orlando Pirates to run the record champions much closer this time around.
And he foresees Kaizer Chiefs giving a better account of themselves than in recent campaigns.
“It’s obvious that the Sundowns gap is yet to be closed,” Mosimane said yesterday during his visit to Curro Academy Pretoria in East Lynne for his Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools (PMSS) programme.
“But when Orlando Pirates manages to win knockout trophies like they did, and beating Sundowns in the finals for that matter, it tells you that there’s a chance they can challenge.”
The fact that Sundowns are yet to announce who will take over the reins after the departure of Rulani Mokwena to Wydad Casablanca makes it a little hard for Mosimane to say with certainty just what kind of campaign the champions will have.
“Is Manqoba (Mngqithi) going to be in charge? He is experienced and has been there for many years, when the club was winning the league.
“But they might bring a coach from outside, we don’t know. Still, in the league, Sundowns have shown they are still the best.”
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗗𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗩𝗘 𝗞𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗔 🙌
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) July 17, 2024
In our exclusive new episode, DJ Naves and Tiyani Mabunda sat down with Senior Coach Steve Komphela for an exciting discussion about the coach's return to Chloorkop! 👀🗣
📲… pic.twitter.com/fbPh91I84k
While he is not one to read too much into pre-season performances, Mosimane admits that Pirates will gain some confidence from their performances in Spain, where they beat Sevilla, and believes the continuity with coach Jose Riveiro will work in their favour.
“Those kind of results give players confidence; it is exciting to play against players you see on TV, and to beat them is great because the team believe in themselves more.
“There are so many spin-offs in that, and I am not surprised that even Sundowns and Chiefs have gone to Europe for their pre-season.
“Pirates are in a good space because they have the same guy for three seasons now, and that should count for something. I think it will be a Pirates v Sundowns challenge for the title.”
☠️ 🏆🏆 #𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗦 🏆🏆
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) June 5, 2024
One. More. Time.
⚫️⚪️🔴⭐️#MTN8CHAMPIONS#NedbankCupChampions#OrlandoPirates#OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/tkYnu1Jk4d
He expects Chiefs – under the guidance of Tunisian coach Nasreddine Nabi – to do better after missing out on the top eight in the previous campaign.
“I’d like to say Nabi will bring his magic and get Chiefs challenging for a top three. I’ve seen him at work when he was still at Yanga (Tanzania’s Young Africans) when I was a guest of the club’s president during Yanga Day. I watched their training sessions and their matches, and he is a credible coach,” Mosimane said.
“He won the double, if not the treble, on more than one occasion, and although he comes in from Morocco without trophies, he was in the (Throne Cup) final and challenged for the league.
“That tells you the kind of coach he is, and I believe he will help Chiefs – even though we know that success is not achieved solely by the coach or the players, but there are a whole lot of things that contribute.”
Mosimane is still without a contract for next season, having spent the last two seasons in Saudi Arabia, but says he is not in a rush.
“There are offers, but it has to be the right one, hey. So for now, we are here and we are focused on the PMSS, which is really growing fast.
“It is unbelievable how many kids we are reaching with this thing.”