Cape Town — The English idiom of “who pays the piper calls the tune” does not ring true in Saudi Arabian football.
There has been widescale speculation that one of Africa's most decorated coaches, Pitso Mosimane, could soon join the ranks of the unemployed.
This is despite his successes at Saudi First Division League team Al-Ahli, which was relegated from the Saudi Pro League last season.
Mosimane's mandate was to secure the club promotion and win the first division. Mosimane succeeded on both counts, but the club were seemingly unimpressed with his performance.
🇸![CDATA[]]>🇦 @ALAHLI_FC players refused to celebrate their title win and the look on 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 @TheRealPitso said it all.
— Lorenz Köhler (@Lorenz_KO) May 30, 2023
The fans and board state it was embarrassing to be relegated and it shouldn’t be celebrated going up.
pic.twitter.com/SNtIu1BqTQ
After securing promotion a few weeks ago, there were reports that the club chairperson Walid Moaz was making efforts to replace the former Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns coach.
Moaz confirmed that he had been scouting for a European coach and said in a TV interview: “Pitso Mosimane performed well with the team, but the ambition is greater”.
Unfazed by these reports that undermined his position at Al-Ahli, Mosimane closed out the season on Monday when the club was presented with the first division trophy.
What happened at the trophy presentation, shocked Mosimane to the core. After the team captain received the trophy, they posed for a mandatory photograph and walked off as if they were part of a funeral procession.
There was no sign of celebrations, and even when the fireworks went off, they continued their walk back to the dressing-rooms. One player tossed his medal into the crowd.
For several minutes, Mosimane was left bewildered. He said in a post-match interview: “I don’t know what happened. I won 19 titles and celebrated all of them.
“I was surprised that the players did not celebrate the championship, but asked the management (for the reason).
"I control things on the pitch, but what goes on off the pitch is out of my control.”
Later it was learnt the fans and board were still embarrassed that the club, the most successful in Saudi history, were relegated last season. The promotion, they felt, was not something to be celebrated.
As much as Mosimane was taken off guard by the players' non-celebration, the Al-Ahli hierarchy would also have been rudely surprised by the South African's fighting talk.
The media was pressing to hear Mosimane's thoughts about the club looking to replace him next season.
“I have a clause in my contract that stipulates the extension of the contract when the team ascends. Why should I change the matter,” he said.
By the sound of things, Mosimane will exercise his option to carry on as coach, regardless, of whether the Al-Ahli bosses feel otherwise.
IOL Sport