Orlando Pirates legend Jomo Sono is of the view that Kaizer Chiefs missed out on a golden opportunity to appoint Pitso Mosimane as their head coach.
Even though Amakhosi are yet to make an official admission, the cat is already out of the bag that Chiefs have gone for Tunisian coach Nasreddine Nabi, over Mosimane.
‘Jingles’ is currently unattached after parting ways with Saudi Arabian side Abha FC in May.
Sono, who enjoyed playing alongside greats such as Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and Brazilian darling Pele, is convinced that Mosimane was the best candidate to call the shots at Naturena.
“It would have been a very good marriage because Pitso has one advantage – he is a hard worker, even when he was a player, he used to stay behind with me and we would work with set-pieces,” Sono told Hollywoodbets Brand Ambassador Robert Marawa on 947.
The long-awaited interview 🤝🏾@robertmarawa @947 #MSWon947 #ChangingTheGame pic.twitter.com/W4R7vDbira
— Pitso Mosimane (@TheRealPitso) June 28, 2024
“Whatever he has earned as a coach is because he is a hard worker. He has coached at the highest level and I think he should have been given a chance and it would have been a very good marriage.
“But we don’t know what happens behind closed doors. Maybe the dollars were too high or too low,” the ‘Black Prince’ added.
Chiefs are under a lot of pressure – not only because of the nine barren seasons – but because of the continued success enjoyed by their closest rivals Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Brazilians have been dominating the DStv Premiership for the past seven seasons while Bucs mentor Jose Riveiro has established himself as a cup specialist in the past two terms.
Mosimane admits that he was attracted to the Chiefs gig, which would have marked his return to the local scene since 2020.
"We are close to the Motaung family, we talk and we meet but we have never touched this subject."
“We can never know until we ask them. It was a very good project because when I saw what happened in Bloemfontein with Bafana Bafana, I said oh, football is still alive in South Africa,” Mosimane said on 947.
“I said we can wake up the sleeping giant like we did with Al Ahli in Saudi. They now have Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez and that was not long ago.
“We also did that at SuperSport United, we did that at Sundowns also. They were 14th on the log and I think we left the jersey at a better place,” he added.
While Mosimane remains unattached, he is preparing to be conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of Johannesburg a few days before his 60th birthday.
The three-time CAF Champions League champions will join the likes of Danny Jordaan, Irvin Khoza, Sono, Kaizer Motaung, who have been honoured for their contribution to football.
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