Newly appointed Al Ahli Jeddah head coach Pitso Mosimane has hit out at local coaches who opt for South Africa’s ‘soft life’ rather than pursuing careers abroad.
Mosimane officially touched down in Saudi Arabia on Monday to begin his life in the Saudi Arabian second division where he has been assigned the mammoth task of restoring Al Ahli to where they belong – the very top.
However, prior to jetting out, Mosimane had a few choice words for some of his South African counterparts, challenging them to move outside of their comfort zones to explore new opportunities or create opportunities internally whilst seeking employment.
“Let’s be honest, how many players are out of contract here in South Africa now? More than 10, 15 or 20. How many coaches are sitting at home? Go and coach those people! Go onto the training pitch, find a pitch, train them, keep them fit and recommend [them to clubs].
“Go and coach in the schools. It’s not about downgrading or whatever. Keep yourself going, improve, do something.”
“You can’t sit at home as a coach, that mentality has to change a little bit here at home,” Mosimane told journalists at a press conference conducted by MT Sports and Marketing in Sandton.
“Sometimes I speak to somebody and I say, ‘I’ve been in a country and I know the President of the Federation, do you want to go?’ and they ask, ‘how much do they pay? I can’t go and leave my family for that’. I’m leaving my family, I leave my children, my boy is now growing up. Somewhere somehow, that is the mentality. We also want soft life as coaches.
“You cant tell me you don’t have a job but you are not coaching and we need coaches…” he added.
‘We always have offers,’ says former Sundowns and Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane who is currently without a job.
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